The Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse of the Year Award presented by the Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center recognizes the work of all hospice and palliative nurses from across the country.
Recipients will receive:
- HPCC covers the cost of renewal for the CHPN® certification
- Award with engraving
- Travel to an HPNA Annual event (if applicable)
The 2026 awards application window has closed. If you have any questions, please contact HPCC.
Eligibility
- Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse (CHPN®)
- Members of the HPCC board, Examination Development Committees, and Awards Selection Committee are ineligible
Criteria
- The individual personifies excellence in the professional practice of hospice/palliative nursing
- The individual has made contributions in at least one of the following areas of hospice/palliative care: clinical practice, education, or research
- The individual provides leadership through mentorship of others in hospice/palliative care
Judging
- All nominations are reviewed and the recipient is selected by the Awards Selection Committee of HPCC
HPCC CHPN® of the Year Award Recipients
Christine has been a registered nurse for nearly 40 years and a hospice nurse for more than 30 of them, giving her the privilege of walking alongside thousands of patients and families at life’s final moments. Her nursing journey has taken her from the med-surg floors in Massachusetts to missionary clinics in Papua New Guinea, with stops in telemetry, home health, and even summer camp nursing. Christine grew up overseas—in the Soviet Union, Kenya, and Saudi Arabia—thanks to her diplomat parents; that global perspective has shaped how she approaches care: with curiosity, cultural humility, and deep respect for every person’s story.
Christine has served as an on-call RN, clinical specialist, educator, and director of nursing, always with a passion for mentoring others in the art and science of end-of-life care. She earned a Master’s in Palliative Care from the University of Maryland in 2019, and her Doctor of Nursing Practice from Aspen University in 2022, with her research project concentrating on utilizing validated prognostic tools to help increase the frequency of home hospice visits in the last week of life.
Christine wholeheartedly believes being present at the bedside of the dying is a sacred privilege—and with that comes the responsibility to deliver excellent, informed, and compassionate care. Her mission is to keep herself and my colleagues sharp, grounded, and ready to “stand in the gap” for patients and families.
When she isn’t immersed in hospice work, Christine enjoys life with her husband of 42 years, their three grown sons, six grandchildren, and her side passion as a professional photographer.
Angela Meyer has devoted her career to health care since 2003. She became a registered nurse in 2014 and completed her Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) in 2020. With more than ten years at Gundersen Palmer Lutheran Home Health and Hospice, she has led the organization to achieve level 5 status as a We Honor Veterans Partner, exemplifying her commitment to high-quality hospice care.
In 2017, she earned her CHPN® certification and recently became an End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) instructor. She has served on the Hospice and Palliative Care Association of Iowa board since 2021 and is currently the president-elect, contributing to the strategic direction of hospice and palliative care in the state.
She actively advocates for hospice care at both state and federal levels. She has contributed to the American Nurses Journal and participated in various initiatives, including the Iowa LEAD Conference, the Iowa Hospice Veterans Partnership, and Hospice Action Week in Washington, D.C. As a panelist for webinars focused on hospice survey preparedness, she has shared her insights with a broader audience. She is well known in her community for her efforts in educating the public about hospice care, having delivered more than 25 presentations in recent years. Her dedicated service to advancing hospice and palliative care highlights her profound impact on the lives of patients and their families.
- 2024: Mary Mack, MSN, RN, PHNA-BC, CHPN®
- 2023: Tonya Kuhl, RN, BSN, CHPN®
- 2022: Gertrude Kozak, BSN, RN, CHPN®
- 2021: Amisha Parkeh de Campos, PhD, RN, CHPN®
- 2020: Tammy Stokes, MSN, CHPN®, RN-BC
- 2019: Bernadette Dugan, RN, CHPN®
- 2018: Petti-Jeanne Sheldon, RN, CHPN®