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May  2008

The mission of the Alliance for Excellence in Hospice and Palliative Nursing is to serve as the unified voice in hospice and palliative nursing to integrate and coordinate end-of-life care with other members of the interdisciplinary team, to act as a visionary for specialty trending nursing issues, to be a primary resource fostering excellence in hospice and palliative nursing, and to advance end-of-life care for the benefit of the public at large. 

Note:
Proceeds from the Registered Nurse and the Nursing Assistant Self Assessment Exams now benefit The Alliance. You can find the Registered Nurse and Nursing Assistant Self Assessment Exams (SAE) on the AMP Web Site. For further information on the SAEs link here.

HPNA Awards
HPNA awards deadline is June 1, 2008.  Link here for more award information.

HPNA Clinical Practice Forum: Caring for People Who Are Not Like Me
September 5-6, 2008
Hilton Pittsburgh, 600 Commonwealth Place, Pittsburgh, PA
For reservations call 412-391-4600 (mention you are attending the Clinical Practice Forum).

***An important announcement related to those PLANNING to attend***

BOOK YOUR HOTEL ACCOMODATIONS SOON!

The National Football League has just announced that the FIRST Steelers home game will be that weekend. Pittsburgh Steelers’ fans are SERIOUS fans and travel a great distance for home games. Hotel rooms in Pittsburgh and the surrounding area will be at a premium that weekend of September 4 – 7, 2008. Once our room block is full you can contact HPNA for a listing of other area hotels.

Register Online for this event for additional savings.

Additionally, two pre-conferences are available on Friday, September 5, 2008, that are priced separately from the conference fees.
Download conference brochure (pdf file). 

2009 Annual Assembly Call for Proposals
The 2009 Annual Assembly sponsored by the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine and the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association will be held March 25 – March 28, 2009 in Austin, Texas. 

The call for Clinically Based proposals opened on April 15, 2008 and the deadline for submission is June 2, 2008. Proposals are submitted via the Internet on the AAHPM website. Click here

Note: The call for Proposals for Research Based topics will be open July 14, 2008 to August 18, 2008. A 3rd call for Professionals in Training Case Conferences will open in the October, 2008.

Congratulations to the newest HPNA Chartered Chapter
The HPNA Chapter of Piedmont NC was awarded chapter charter by the HPNA Board of Directors on April 26, 2008. Congratulations to President, Joyce Conway; President Elect, Niki Koesel ; Secretary, Tina Cull; Treasurer, Redella Hedrick and the membership of the Piedmont Chapter on their accomplishment!

Public Policy Update
HPNA has officially endorsed two important pieces of legislation, the Comprehensive Cancer Care Improvement Act of 2007 (H.R.1078) and the Comprehensive Cancer Care Improvement Act of 2008 (S.2790). Letters of support were sent on May 1st to the appropriate Senators and Representatives associated with H.R. 1078 and S. 2790. For the complete text of the legislation, brief summaries and legislative comparisons, please visit the recently expanded Active Legislation area of the HPNA website, Active Legislation Link. 

Year-Long Mentoring Applications Available
The American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine's College of Palliative Care (CPC) is currently accepting applications from nurses for the 2008 Year-Long Mentoring program that funds mentor/mentee pairs to focus on professional development in education, research, clinical care, and administration. The program is open to new mentoring relationships that will benefit from regular, in-person contact over the course of one year.
Please click on the following link for more information and an application form. The deadline for applications is May 19, 2008. http://www.aahpm.org/about/yearlongmentorship.html

 

Generalist Clinical Review Train-the-Trainer workshop scheduled
Two Generalist Clinical Review Train-the-Trainer programs are scheduled:
1) Saturday, June 14th, 2008 at the Sheraton Atlantic City in Atlantic City, New Jersey 
2) Saturday, September 20, 2008 Hyatt Regency, Dearborn, Michigan
The one-day workshop is for experienced hospice and palliative Registered Nurses who wish to become HPNA Approved Educators. Presented in a Train-the-Trainer format, participants will be taught facilitation skills to prepare them to teach the Clinical Review. Link to Application

Newest product:  Practice Drivers
HPNA Practice Drivers help keep you up-to-date on evidence-based practice. They are summaries of research articles on a variety of clinical topics. Each article is succinctly condensed to give you just the information you need to practice. After the article summaries is a list of Practice Points which recaps the “take to practice” points from the articles. A collection of three topics are selected each quarter and placed on a flash drive. Each topic is prepared as a PDF file which can be printed and shared with colleagues.

January 2008 is available now with article summaries of:
• Enteral Feeding in Patients with Neurogenic Dysphagia
• Management of Terminal Secretions
• The Use of Opioids and Sedation at End of Life

Click here to order this HPNA Practice Driver

Coming Soon: The Compendium of Treatment of End-Stage Non-Cancer Diagnoses: Neurological Disease And Trauma
The Compendium is a series of seven books, edited by Patrick J. Coyne, MSN, APRN, BC-PCM, FAAN, designed to serve a resource in constructing an appropriate plan of care for individuals and their families experiencing these diseases. These modules examine the incidence of each disease process, the pathophysiology of the illness, appropriate assessment techniques and treatments as the disease progresses. The modules further define the psycho-social implications. The modules specifically question the potential ethical, economic and research implications as related to each specific disease process. The seventh publication in this series, Neurological Disease And Trauma by Judith A. Paice, PhD, RN, FAAN, will be available SOON at Publications.
 

 
Upcoming weekly teleconferences: Must pre-register; call HPNA at 412-787-9301

Professional Nurse Dealing with Dying and Death with Children (Wed. June 11, 2008 12 noon ET).
Journal Club The Implementation of a Grieving Cart in the ICU (Wed. May 21, 2008 3 pm ET)
Nursing Assistant Dealing with the Difficult Patient/Family (Wed. May 28, 2008 3 pm ET) 


Additional information on your JHPN mailing label
The mailing label on your Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing includes ‘Renew mm/dd/yyyy’ on the first line near the membership number. This month/day/year is your current HPNA membership expiration date. This is one more method we are implementing to inform members of the membership expiration date to encourage a timely renewal.


Newest posts on the HPNA website:

• Synergy One Executive Summary Report reflecting HPNA members’ responses to this research activity

• Public Policy State Ambassadors Program

• Newest Patient/Family Teaching Sheets : Managing Opioid Induced Constipation; Self-care for the Caregiver

• Newest TIPS Sheet: TIPS for Constipation
  

Link to HPNA Monthly Update  

2009 Call For Nominations
If you or someone you know is certified and interested in serving your profession and are committed to end of life care, you may want to consider applying for a position on the NBCHPN® Board of Directors or one of the five Examination Development Committees.

The NBCHPN® welcomes applications for available positions for the Board of Directors and the five Examination Development Committees for 2009. If interested please contact the National Office at 412-787-1057, via fax at 412-787-9305, or via email at nbchpn@hpna.org for an application packet. Applications are also available on our website, www.nbchpn.org. 

Great care is taken to select candidates from both hospice and palliative care backgrounds, representing various geographic areas of the country and with clinical expertise, management and academic expertise. It is very important that a sufficient number of qualified individuals apply to ensure the ongoing leadership for the certification process and accomplishment of the goals of the organization.

Completed applications are to be received in the National Office by June 1, 2008.

 
2009 Call For Awards
NBCHPN® offers Certificant of the Year Awards for certified individuals at all four levels of nursing: APN, RN, LPN, NA. Certificant of the Year Award recipients receive their awards at the Certification Recognition Event during the AAHPM and HPNA Annual Assembly.

If you would like to nominate yourself or a deserving individual for one of these prestigious awards please contact the National Office at 412-787-1057 via phone, nbchpn@hpna.org, or visit our website www.nbchpn.org for a nomination application. 

Award nominations are to be received in the National Office by June 1, 2008.

COMING SOON!
HOSPICE AND PALLIATIVE CARE ADMINISTRATOR EXAM
The NBCHPN Hospice and Palliative Care Administrator Examination will be available for the September 2008 testing window. Eligibility requirements, exam overview, Role Delineation Study information, etc. is available on our website, www.nbchpn.org under the ADMIN tab regarding our Administrator exam. The Candidate Handbook will be updated to include the Administrator certification exam and available on our website May 15th. Applications will be accepted beginning June 1st.

Link to NBCHPN Monthly Update

Two Funding Announcements from HPNF!
• The HPNF Certification Research Grant is funded up to $15,000 for 2008!
• New HPNF Conference Scholarships are available. Awards of $200 are available for conferences sponsored by HPNA (like Clinical Practice Forum and Annual Assembly).
Deadline for applications is June 1. More Information


Did you know…
…the one and only mission of the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Foundation, HPNF, is to support the goals of HPNA? Donors expressed a need to be able to give tax-deductible contributions to hospice and palliative nurses. HPNF was established in 1998 as a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization so that all donations to the Foundation are tax-exempt under IRS guidelines. 

This classification allows the Foundation to be an organization of choice for donors – individuals as well as corporations and other foundations and non-profits. Donations are used specifically to advance the mission of HPNA. 


HPNF Raises Funds…These are the results:
• Scholarships for HPNA members 
• Research grants to advance the science
• Educational project grants for HPNA chapters
• Support of HPNA programs
• Leading the Way Awards


Three Ways to Donate to HPNF:
Return the appeal letter received by mail
Phone: 412-787-9301
Online: Donate Now Link
Be sure to indicate you are responding to the Annual Member Appeal


The Power of Ten!
In 2007 there were 412 members who donated to HPNF throughout the year. That represented 5% of the total membership of HPNA.

To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Foundation, wouldn’t it be great to have 10% of the membership donating? With the increased membership, that means we need 920 donors! 

If you have already made your 2008 contribution, Thank You! If you have been waiting for a special reason to donate to HPNF, please consider joining with 919 others and express your belief that The Future of Hospice and Palliative Nursing is in Your Hands. Please make your donation today! 


Key To Your Heart – Gift Cases may be ordered by phone, online or through the mail with the order form on the website. There is a $20 donation for each case.



Click here to make a donation to HPNF

Link to HPNF homepage
 

NCP Quality in Palliative Care Award
The National Consensus Project for Quality Palliative Care (NCP) announced the inauguration of the NCP Quality in Palliative Care Award, a program designed to recognize organizations performing superior work incorporating the NCP’s Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care (http://www.nationalconsensusproject.org) into their palliative care services.

Application deadline is September 1, 2008. For more information contact Ken Zuroski by email at kenz@hpna.org or phone 412-787-1002. Link for further information

The Alliance for Excellence in Hospice and Palliative Nursing
The Alliance for Excellence in Hospice and Palliative Nursing has partnered with the following program: Advocates for Grief Recovery. This is the first universal proactive internet-based health care bereavement program, available to consumers through participation of their local funeral service. 
Link to Advocates for Grief Recovery.

APN Billing Teleconference – save the date!
HPNA is co-sponsoring a Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) upcoming audio conference, July 31, 2008, entitled, “APN Billing.” This event will be presented from 1:30 – 2:30 pm EST by Constance Dahlin, APRN, BC, PCM, who is a Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner at Massachusetts General Hospital. Link to CAPC

HAVE YOU MOVED?
If you are not receiving the publications included with your membership, please contact us.  The mailing lists for Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing, the HPNA Nursing Assistant Newsletter, etc. are all prepared from our database at the National Office.  The journals are sent second class mail and are not forwarded.  Please keep us informed of your address changes so that you receive full benefit of your membership.  The Members Only area of the HPNA website has been enhanced to permit current members to edit personal contact information: address, phone number, email address etc.  Change your contact information at Member Login or call us at 412-787-9301.  Thank you.