Experts & Educators
We are a hub for the country’s most distinguished hospice and grief experts, researchers, and professionals. HFA experts help to inform and educate on a wide range of timely and relevant topics essential to best practice.
Our HFA educators are well known and widely recognized as experts in their fields.
They’re researchers with decades of knowledge backed by evidenced-based studies.
They’re professionals who have honed their skills with years of patient and family care.
HFA has been privileged to include many notable experts in its professional education offerings over the past 30 years, including the late Earl. A Grollman; Nancy Hogan, RN, PhD; Karla Holloway, PhD; the late William M. Lamers, MD; the late Richard E. Payne, MD.
Below is a complete listing of our presenters and authors from 2020 onward. We are grateful for their willingness to share their expertise to advance hospice and bereavement care through HFA.
Using a case study approach, this course addresses frequent but difficult medical and ethical situations that every hospice professional encounters. Cases studies and best practice presentations include: providing hospice care to patients with mental health conditions; use and discontinuation of artificial nutrition and hydration in hospice, including communication with families and patients; and effective pain relief at the end of life using non-opioids, including use of non-opioids for patients with substance abuse disorder.
Registration Options
Continuing Education
Professional CE hours included with registration; choose your certificate type below. If you do not need CEs or would like a certificate of attendance, click here.
Kimberly Dansie is Vice President of Community Outreach at Community Nursing Service Home Health and Hospice, West Valley City, UT. Kimberly is passionate about improving the final years of Seniors and has worked towards that goal as a healthcare executive in the post-acute space for over 30 years. She earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree…
Brian de Vries is professor emeritus of gerontology at San Francisco State University with an adjunct appointment at Simon Fraser University (in Vancouver). He is a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA), past Board member of the American Society on Aging (ASA), and former co-chair of the LGBTQ Aging Issues Network constituent group….
Monica Delaney is an art therapist and licensed professional counselor. She has worked in pediatric hospice and children’s grief counseling since 2018. Prior to that, she had experience with children and adults receiving organ transplants, in outpatient oncology/hematology, and in private practice, as well as with children and teens with emotional and behavioral disabilities. She…
Thom Dennis is the creator of the Grief River® model. With over 30 years of experience supporting individuals and families as they navigate their way through some of life’s most turbulent and troubled waters, Dennis brings real-world, practical knowledge applicable to all interdisciplinary team members working in hospice and palliative care. With a professional career immersed in pastoral care…
Kenneth Doka is Senior Vice President of Grief Programs at Hospice Foundation of America (HFA) and the recipient of the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Death Education and Counseling (ADEC). A prolific author and editor, Doka serves as editor of HFA’s Living with Grief® book series, its Journeys newsletter, and numerous other books and publications. He…
Craig Dresang is CEO of YoloCares, Sacramento Valley’s first established hospice and community-based palliative care program. He is a writer, educator, hospice advocate, and an end-of-life columnist for The Davis Enterprise. Dresang is a board member for Joshua’s House in Sacramento, the first hospice residence for the homeless on the West Coast. During his 20+…
This is an optional exceprt.
Kelstan Ellis is a palliative care physician and bioethicist at Children’s Mercy Kansas City (CMKC) and the medical director of pediatric palliative care at the University of Kansas Health System (TUKHS). She completed her pediatrics residency and palliative care fellowship at the University of Kansas. Her clinical interests include the intersection of ethics and palliative…
William Feigelman is an emeritus professor of sociology at Nassau Community College, where he taught for 50 years. Since his son’s suicide in 2002, Feigelman has focused his professional writings on suicide and suicide bereavement, with his writings appearing in most all leading bereavement journals. He is a co-author of Devastating Losses: How Parents Cope…
Gary Fink was Senior Vice President of Counseling and Family Support at Montgomery Hospice in Rockville, MD, where he supported the counseling departments, directed the Spiritual Counseling staff, and led interfaith community outreach efforts. He served as a congregational rabbi for more than 25 years, retiring from the pulpit to establish a pastoral counseling practice…
Pamela Gabbay is a nationally recognized author, trainer, and consultant who has served the bereavement field in many capacities during her career. Gabbay is part of the training corps of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) and travels throughout the country conducting trainings on their behalf. She is on the Advisory Board for the…
Louis Gamino is Professor (Affiliated) of Psychiatry & Behavioral Science at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine and Baylor Scott & White Health in Temple, Texas. Dr. Gamino is a Diplomate in Clinical Psychology through the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) and a Fellow in Thanatology (FT) through the Association for Death…
Whether you’re a patient, family member, or a friend trying to determine whether hospice is the right choice, HFA is here. We provide guidance before, during, and after the important decisions are made.
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