6th Annual U.S. Celebration of World Hospice & Palliative Care Day: A Virtual Coming Together

Access to palliative care is a basic right and a critical component of universal health coverage, ensuring the highest attainable standard of health for individuals with serious illness and their caregivers.

In recognition of World Hospice and Palliative Care Day (WHPCD)—an annual day of action to celebrate and advance hospice and palliative care worldwide—we invite you to join a complimentary virtual conference hosted in the United States. Now in its sixth year, this event is co-sponsored by the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Supportive Care Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK).

This conference serves as a global platform to foster cross-cultural community building, scientific dissemination, and experiential wisdom sharing. Multiprofessional and multidisciplinary leaders at the forefront of research, policy, and clinical practice will present on diverse topics across the domains of palliative care, including pain and symptom management, psychological and spiritual care, cultural humility and ethics, evidence-based advocacy, care for historically minoritized and marginalized populations, and social science perspectives in serious illness. We intentionally integrate and amplify the voices of people with lived experience of serious illness throughout this event.

Highlights of this innovative and impactful two-day event include:

• Specialized breakout sessions featuring experts in traditional and alternative medicine, end-of-life care, surgical palliative care, and pediatric palliative care. 

• A dedicated session will explore patient and caregiver perspectives, offering meaningful insights into their lived experiences.

• The Palliative Story Exchange, an inclusive forum for interprofessional palliative care clinicians to safely share experiences and reflections with peers

• Presentations from palliative care leaders around the world will highlight global progress since the implementation of the 2014 World Health Assembly (WHA) Resolution 67.19 on Palliative Care.

• Interactive discussions with interprofessional and global faculty will focus on the implications of palliative care for patients, families, and communities worldwide—advancing both practice and scholarship.
  

This conference focuses on the care of individuals with serious illness and their caregivers. It is designed for a broad national and international audience of healthcare professionals—including, but not limited to, nurses, nurse practitioners, physicians, physician assistants, social workers, chaplains, psychiatrists, psychologists, pharmacists, and patient advocates—regardless of specialty or prior experience in palliative care or oncology. This conference is complimentary for all participants, and we proudly welcome all members of the community to attend.

To ensure broad accessibility, the program will be delivered virtually via Zoom across two half-day sessions. All times are listed in Eastern Time (ET), U.S.

• Day 1: Monday, October 6 | 8:00 am – 1:20 pm (ET)

• Day 2: Tuesday, October 7 | 12:00 pm – 6:40 pm (ET)

Following the conference, registrants will receive access to an online syllabus featuring select PDF slides from faculty presentations and recorded session videos.

1. Apply interdisciplinary and interprofessional approaches to address patient and family needs across palliative care domains to improve quality of life and alleviate suffering.
2. Address health disparities in hospice and palliative care with actionable methods to promote social justice.
3. Describe advocacy efforts to expand access to, and quality of, palliative care globally.
4. Describe evidence-based approaches and advances in symptom management, serious illness communication, bereavement, spiritual care, end-of-life care, and advance care planning in adult and pediatric populations.
5. Explore and incorporate culturally appropriate palliative care interventions that are sensitive to individual beliefs, values, and practices across resource settings.
6. Describe spiritual and existential considerations throughout the serious illness trajectory and employ best practices using interdisciplinary and interprofessional models.

This conference is complimentary for all participants; however, registration is required. Please click the “Register” tab above to complete your Zoom registration. For any questions regarding registration, contact us at [email protected].

If you are registered for this conference and are no longer able to attend, please email [email protected] to cancel you registration. For additional details on our cancellation terms, please review our Cancellation Policy.

"Industry professionals" are welcome to attend Continuing Medical Education events at MSK for their own educational purposes. View our Registration Policy for Industry Professionals for more information.

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

AMA Credit Designation Statement

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center designates this live activity for a maximum of 11.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

ABIM MOC Recognition Statement

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 11.25 MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.

ANCC CNE Statement

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center–Nursing Professional Development / Continuing Education is accredited with distinction as a provider of nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

11.25 contact hours will be awarded to participants who attend the program in its entirety and complete a program evaluation. Partial credit not awarded.

Continuing Education for Licensed Psychologists in New York State*

This event offers 11.25 NYS Psychology Contact Hours.

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center is recognized by the New York State Education Department State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0166.

Social Work Accreditation Statement*

This presentation is approved for a maximum of 11.25 Continuing Education Contact Hours of Live Virtual Training. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0228.

*Not all states accept New York State Contact Hours. Please check with the licensing board in your state for guidance on their acceptance of the credit types offered for this course.

MSK Conference Director

Billy Rosa, PhD, MBE, APRN, FAANP, FPCN, FAAN
Assistant Attending Behavioral Scientist,
Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center;
2021 Cambia Health Foundation Sojourns Scholar;
2024 RWJF Harold Amos Scholar;
Editor-in-Chief, Psycho-Oncology;
Co-Chair, The Lancet Respiratory Medicine Commission on Palliative Care Integration in Serious Respiratory Illness

MSK Conference Co-Directors 

Shila Pandey, DNP, AGPCNP-BC, ACHPN  
Nurse Practitioner, Supportive Care Service;
Lead APP, Quality Assurance,
APP Professional Development Department
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Andrew Epstein, MD, FAAHPM
Associate Attending, 
Medical Oncology and Supportive Care Services;
2017 Cambia Health Foundation Sojourns Scholar
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center;
Associate Professor of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical Center

MSK Planning Committee 

Liz Blackler, MBE, LCSW-R
Associate Director, Ethics Committee and Consultation Service
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Dana Greenfield, MD, PhD
Assistant Attending,
Department of Pediatrics
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Lauren Akua Koranteng, PharmD, MPH, BCPS
Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Supportive Care Service,
Department of Pharmacy
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Johanna Schoen, PhD
Co-Chair, Patient & Family Advisory Council for Quality (PFACQ)
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Paul Yoon, BCC, MDiv, MA
Program Manager, Spiritual Care
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Conference Sponsor's Opening Remarks

Craig D. Blinderman, MD, MA, FAAHPM
Chief, Supportive Care Service
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center;
Professor of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine

William S. Breitbart, MD
Chairman, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences;
Jimmie C. Holland Chair in Psychiatric Oncology;
Attending Psychiatrist, Psychiatry & Supportive Care Services
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Conference Faculty 

Oladayo Afolabi, PhD, RN
King’s College London

Carlie Arbaugh, MD, MS, Chef
Stanford Health Care

Alua Arthur, JD
Going with Grace End of Life Training, Planning, and Support Organization

Marie Barnett, PhD
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Netsanet Bogale, MD  
Hawassa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital Cancer Treatment Center

Tyler Brown, PhD, R. Psych 
Wellspring Cancer Support Alberta; Private Practice 

Sarah Byrne-Martelli, DMin, BCC-PCHAC
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Danielle Chammas, MD
University of California San Francisco

Renee Chau, AGPCNP-BC, ACHPN
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Natasha Dachos, BCC, LMSW, MAPCC
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Jacopo D’Andria Ursoleo, MD
IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute

Edward “Chris” Dee, MD
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Alexis Drutchas, MD 
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Harvard Medical School

Juan Esteban Correa-Morales, MD, MsC 
University College London; Latin American Observatory of Palliative Care

Sharif A. Folorunso, MBChB, FWACS, FMCR, MSc 
Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Ile-Ife

Paul Galchutt, MDiv, MPH, BCC
Rush University Medical Center

Adrian  E. Go, MD
Cebu Institute of Medicine

Richard Harding, BSc, MSc, DipSW, PhD
King’s College London

Katherine Hill, MD, MS, FACS
West Virginia University School of Medicine 

Yen Nien (Jason) Hou, PharmD, DipIOM, LAc
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Christopher Jones, MD, MBA, HMDC, FAAHPM   
Duke Health
 
Kimberly Kopecky, MD, MSCI  
The University of Alabama at Birmingham

Abraham Labrada-Santiago, MDiv, BCC-PCHAC
The Mayo Clinic

Richard E. Leiter, MD, MA, FAAHPM
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI); Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Jun J. Mao, MD, MSCE
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Daniel Nuzum, PhD, MTh, BCC, ACPE
Cork University Hospital; Marymount University Hospital and Hospice

Anna Peeler, PhD, RN 
King’s College London

Edward Peñate, DMin, BCC
Northwestern Memorial Hospital 

Andrya R. Rivera-Burciaga, PhD(c), DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, ACHPN
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Melissa Ross, LICSW
Ross Psychotherapy LLC

Rachel Rusch, LCSW, MSW, MA, APHSW-C

Alexandra Russo, LCSW
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
 
Annemarie Samuels, PhD  
Leiden University 
 
Teddy Scheel, LCSW, MPH  
UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
 
Susan Seo, MD, FACP, FIDSA 
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
 
Bryan A. Sisk, MD, MSCI
Washington University School of Medicine
 
J. Mac Skelton, PhD
American University of Iraq
 
Katherine Sleeman, BSc, MBBS, PhD, FRCP
King’s College London
 
Dingle Spence, MBBS, Dip. Pall Med, FRCR
University of the West Indies, Mona
 
Lesley Taylor, MD
City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center
 
Frederic Ivan L. Ting, MD, MCM(MO), MAN, FPCP, FPSMO, FPSO, FSASS
Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital; University of St. La Salle
 
Dorothy W. Tolchin, MD, EdM
Harvard Medical School; Mass General Research Institute
 
Mark Cheong Wing Loong, Mpharm, MBA, MA, PhD, FRSPH
Monash University Malaysia
 
Anao Zhang, PhD, LCSW, ACSW, OSW-C, ACBT
University of Michigan 

Mitigation of Relevant Financial Relationships

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center adheres to the ACCME’s Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education. Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CE activity, including faculty, planners, reviewers, or others are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies (commercial interests). All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated prior to the commencement of the activity.