On January 1, 2024, the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA) and the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Foundation (HPNF) welcomed four new Board of Directors: Craig Durie, DNP, CRNP, ACHPN, RNFA; Tracy Fasolino, PhD, FNP-BC, ACHPN, FPCN; Mansara Hassan, MSN, APRN, AGNP-C; and Richelle (Rikki) Hooper, MBA, MSN, FNP-BC, ACHPN, NE-BC, FPCN.
Craig Durie, DNP, CRNP, ACHPN, RNFA:
Craig is a palliative care nurse practitioner working in a multi-hospital, inpatient, consult-based practice in Eastern Pennsylvania. He is passionate about education and creating access through program development. He is a book author, educator, and TEDx speaker. During his 27 years of practice, he has worked in critical care, emergency medicine research, as an organ transplant coordinator, adjunct faculty, and colorectal surgical NP before finding his calling in palliative care. During his 13 years of palliative practice, he worked to develop the region’s first palliative telemedicine consult service to reach underserved rural patients. Outside of the hospital, he has engaged in state and national lobbying relating to diabetes care and full practice authority for nurse practitioners. Craig balances his professional activities with family, a love of gardening, and the outdoors.
Tracy Fasolino, PhD, FNP-BC, ACHPN, FPCN:
Dr. Fasolino strives to advance healthcare research and evidence-based practice throughout South Carolina and beyond to improve the quality of life of patients, caregivers, and healthcare teams. She was selected for the 2021 Cambia Sojourn’s Scholar Leadership Cohort to build a national platform on palliative care needs for residents and providers, as well as educating policy makers on key aspects related to rural health. She is a board-certified Hospice & Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner and Family Nurse Practitioner with over 25 years of experience working with inpatient and outpatient teams. As an educator and advocate, she focuses on sharing her knowledge and skills at all levels of the interdisciplinary team using her embedded Palliative Care (ePC) model. Her area of research is unmet needs for patients with chronic, non-cancer illness with a focus on end-stage pulmonary conditions. She teaches at the Doctoral & Master’s level on advanced pharmacology, acute episodic adult illnesses, and healthcare finance and policy. She has received numerous grants and has published a number of manuscripts focusing on palliative care needs.
Mansara Hassan, MSN, APRN, AGNP-C:
Mansara Hassan, MSN, APRN, AGNP-C is a palliative care nurse practitioner. She earned her Masters of Science in Nursing with a focus on adult gerontology primary care from the University of Pennsylvania. Her current practice involves providing palliative care to patients from predominantly underserved communities. She has been involved in initiatives to improve diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging within the hospice and palliative nursing profession. She was named a 2022 Emerging Leader by the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Foundation. She also was the 2023 recipient of the Nessa Coyle Leadership Award presented by the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Foundation.
Richelle (Rikki) Hooper, MBA, MSN, FNP-BC, ACHPN, NE-BC, FPCN:
Rikki Hooper joined Four Seasons, a not-for-profit Hospice and Palliative Care organization, in 2005 as a palliative care nurse practitioner and has been providing patient care since that time. Certified in Advanced Hospice and Palliative Nursing, she provides care for patients in all settings, both pediatric and adult in Palliative Care and Hospice services. She has presented at regional and national meetings on a variety of topics related to serious and advanced illness as well as operation of community-based programs and has served on the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) Task Force for Quality, and on the Home-Based Workgroup for the Center to Advance Palliative Care. Rikki is the author of several book chapters in APRN textbooks and Core Competencies and contributed to a number of articles published in HPM journals. She has volunteered on the HPNA Clinical Forum planning committee, the AAHPM/HPNA Annual Assembly Abstract Review Committee, served as the Co-Chair for the Community Palliative Care SIG and currently serves as State Ambassador for North Carolina and on the FPCN Application Review Committee.
In addition to the four new board members, the 2024 HPNA and HPNF Board of Directors is comprised of:
Lynn Reinke, PhD, ANP-BC, FAAN, FPCN, ATSF
President
Masako Mayahara, PhD, RN, FAAN, CHPN, FPCN
President-Elect
Blake J. Tobias Jr., MHCI, MS, HA-ODL
Secretary/Treasurer
Michelle Webb, DNP, RN, CHPCA
Past-President
Amy Jacobs, MSN, RN
Catherine Pyke, M.A., Ed (HPNF only)
Yvonne Ruathaiwat, RN, MSN, GCNS-BC, NE-BC.