The Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association Volunteerism Award recognizes an HPNA volunteer who demonstrates an ongoing commitment to serve the mission of HPNA through volunteerism. The award recipient will have assisted or lead an HPNA project that greatly benefited the members of the association. The recipient will have displayed a considerable commitment in terms of time donated, amount of responsibility assumed, and longevity of the project’s impact. The recipient’s contributions must be of an extraordinary nature. Activities involving monetary compensation are not eligible for this award. The HPNA Board of Directors will review the recommendations for approval.
Recipients will receive:
- Award with engraving
- Travel to an HPNA Annual event (if applicable)
- One night hotel stay (if applicable)
Eligibility
The recipient will exhibit:
- HPNA membership history of at least two years.
- Current HPNA membership
- Current HPNA, HPCC, HPNF Board members are not eligible.
HPNA Volunteerism Award Recipients
Dr. Nancy Dias is an Associate Professor in the Nurse Science Department at the College of Nursing. Her work experience in nursing includes both experiences in the United States and internationally (India and Oman) as a clinician, educator, administrator, and a researcher. As an Asian American immigrant, her lived experiences have inspired her passion and advocacy for justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI). She has developed valuable JEDI skills that are exemplified through her research, teaching, and service/leadership (volunteerism).
She completed her PhD at Duke University School of Nursing and a 1-year T32 post-doctoral fellowship from Indiana University School of Nursing. As a researcher, she has a niche for a very significant and innovative aspect of pediatric palliative care services that includes parent caregiver health outcomes, their bereavement processes, and innovative techno. She has received several research grants and among many awards, she is the recipient of the Research Nurse of the Year Award 2020, from North Carolina Nurses Association. She has international collaborations with nurses in India and Egypt and mentors these nurse scientists with whom she shares common research and scholarship interest.
Grace is a nurse practitioner with the Detroit VA Medical Center and is also an adjunct clinical instructor with the advanced practice program at Wayne State University College of Nursing.
Grace has served in a number of roles to support the mission and vision of HPNA including abstract reviewer, poster reviewer, and planning committee member for the Annual Assembly for Hospice and Palliative Care, poster session reviewer, and program committee member for the HPNA Clinical Practice Forum, member and chair of the membership awards committee for HPNF, and a subject matter expert for the HPNA APRN POLARIS Ethics and Communication module.
Grace was the recipient of the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses (2022).