FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Cindy Bramble, Project Talk Trial Outreach Project Manager | [email protected]
Hospice Foundation of America Receives Partner of the Year Award from Penn State College of Medicine
WASHINGTON, DC—Hospice Foundation of America (HFA) was named 2026 Partner of the Year by the Penn State University College of Medicine yesterday.
The award recognizes HFA’s significant contributions to a National Institutes of Health funded research initiative, the Project Talk Trial, which studied how to best engage communities across the U.S. in advance care planning.
“HFA is humbled to receive this meaningful award. On behalf of HFA, I would like to recognize our dedicated HFA staff who did the work that made this honor a reality,” said HFA President Amy Tucci, the project’s co-investigator. “And I would like to thank the committed team at Penn State College of Medicine, led by the project’s principal investigator, Dr. Lauren Jodi Van Scoy. This award reflects our combined efforts.”
With its vast national network, HFA connected PSU College of Medicine researchers to community organizations across the country to bring advance care planning conversations to 1,799 people in 78 communities across 32 states and the District of Columbia. Project Talk Trial is the largest research study of its kind.
“Through Project Talk, the Penn State College of Medicine and Hospice Foundation of America helped move a vital conversation about advance care planning out of the clinic and into communities nationwide, transforming an academic study into a multistate initiative with real, lasting impact. We’re proud to work with them and proud to honor them as one of our 2026 Partners of the Year,” said Karen E. Kim, MD, MS, Dean of the Penn State College of Medicine.
Tucci accepted the award from Don McKenna, president of the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center at Penn State College of Medicine’s Eminence in Action Showcase, an event celebrating partnerships that advance the College of Medicine’s mission, impact research and innovation, and demonstrate a long-term commitment to collaboration.
“I am so delighted that HFA was recognized by this prestigious award for their commitment not only to advancing community engagement in advance care planning, but also to making an important contribution to research science that would not be possible with their partnership”, said Dr. Van Scoy.
Project Talk was funded by the National Institutes of Health and launched in 2020 as a collaboration among PSU College of Medicine, HFA, and the University of Kentucky. The project brought resources and conversations into a variety of community-based settings, including faith communities, hospitals, hospices, and health care coalitions. The project explored different approaches to initiating advance care planning conversations and provided participants with tools to help them talk with family members and others about their values, goals, and preferences for future medical care.
For HFA, the partnership represented an extension of its longstanding commitment to helping individuals, families, and communities better understand life-limiting illness and plan for their end-of-life care before a crisis occurs.
Project Talk Trial events concluded in 2025, and analysis of the data collected through participant surveys and interviews continues. The research is expected to provide additional insight into strategies for engaging communities in advance care planning conversations.
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