Thursday, June 11 and Friday, June 12, 2026
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET
ELNEC is an acronym that stands for End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium and is an education initiative created by the City of Hope and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. HPNA-sponsored ELNEC Core courses provide nurses with education in palliative care, preparing them to teach the information to practicing nurses and other health care professionals. ELNEC courses are written for nurses by nurses.
Course Content
Communication principles are integrated across all eight National Consensus Project Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care (NCP Guidelines) domains and include:
- Palliative Nursing Care at the End-of-Life
- Pain & Symptom Management
- Social & Psychological Aspects of Care
- Cultural Considerations and Ethical Issues
- Spiritual, Religious & Existential Care
- Final Hours
- Loss, Grief, and Bereavement
- Leadership and Self Care
- Immersive two-day curriculum
- Certified ELNEC Master Facilitators
- Curriculum designed specifically for pediatric clinicians
- Graduates gain flexibility to adapt facilitation to their own settings and audiences
The Communication curriculum delivers the full ELNEC Core content through a communication-centered lens, making it especially powerful for learners who:
- Teach, mentor, or facilitate others
- Lead difficult conversations across settings
- Translate complex clinical content into person-centered care
Key strengths of Communication include:
- Skill labs embedded across all eight NCP Guidelines, reinforcing communication as a core clinical skill—not a standalone topic
- An integrated framework illustrating the impact of communication on ethical, cultural, psychosocial, spiritual, and end-of-life care
- Frequent reflection and integration pauses, supporting deeper learning and confidence-building
- Strong preparation for future ELNEC trainers and facilitators
Continuing Education
Participants may earn 13.75 NCPD contact hours* upon successful completion of the course. Successful completion requires participants to remain engaged throughout the Zoom platform (e.g., cameras on, engaged in breakout sessions, etc.) and completing/submitting the post-activity evaluation within the timeframe specified. Evaluations must be completed within 30 days, by July 12, 2026, in order to receive contact hours. Late evaluations cannot be accepted.
All individuals in a position to control content will be submitting financial disclosure information, and appropriate disclosures will be made prior to the event.
Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
*Number of NCPD and pharmacotherapeutic contact hours are subject to change.
Registration
Early Bird (Through April 29, 2026)
Non-Member: $575
Member: $550
Regular (April 30 through June 8)
Non-Member: $625
Member: $600
Group Rate
For group registration rate information, please contact [email protected].
The Hospice and Palliative Nurses Foundation (HPNF) offers scholarships annually for HPNA members to attend an HPNA-sponsored ELNEC course. Learn more and apply here.
Facilitators
Kathy Perko, MS, PPCNP-BC, CHPPN®, CPON, CPLC, FPCN®, FAPHON
Kathy has been a pediatric nurse for 40 years, a PNP for 30 years. She started her career in pediatric oncology, specifically caring for children with brain tumors which she continued through 2015. She founded the Bridges Pediatric Palliative Care Program at OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in 2003 and was the director until her retirement in November 2020. Kathy helped develop the Pediatric Track of the UW Palliative Care Certificate Program and directed the track until 2024. She provides education and consultation in pediatric palliative care through PANDA Consultants, PLLC.
She is nationally certified as a pediatric nurse practitioner, pediatric oncology nurse, perinatal loss clinician and pediatric palliative care and hospice nurse. She is recognized as a Fellow in Palliative and Hospice Care and in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology. She is national faculty for ELNEC, EPEC, and Vital Talk. Kathy has a certificate in pediatric bioethics from Children's Mercy in Kansas City and in Palliative Care from the University of Washington.
Deborah Lafond, DNP, PPCNP-BC, CPON, CHPPN®, FPCN®, FAPHON, FAAN
Dr. Deborah Lafond is the CEO of PANDA Education Consultants, PLLC. She is the former Clinical Director of the PANDA Palliative Care Team at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. and currently serves as adjunct faculty at the University of Maryland in the pediatric palliative care certificate program. Dr. Lafond’s clinical background is in pediatric palliative care and pediatric neuro-oncology. She is a Sojourns Scholar with the Cambia Health Foundation. Dr. Lafond also is an ELNEC-Pediatrics and EPEC-Pediatric trainer.
About the Event
This is a virtual event. The last day to register for this course is June 8, 2026. Registered learners will receive course access information & materials to their HPNA associated email address 3-5 days before course opening.
Cancellation Policy
Registrants must place a cancellation request in writing up to three weeks prior to the event to receive a full refund minus a $100 administrative fee. Cancellations received less than one week prior to the event will not be refunded. Please contact the HPNA Education Department about cancellations. Cancellations requests must be received in writing.