APHSW-C of the Year Award

The Advanced Palliative Hospice Social Worker – Certified of the Year Award presented by the Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center recognizes the work of all hospice and palliative social workers from across the country.

Recipients will receive:

HPCC covers the cost of renewal for the APHSW-C certification
Award with engraving
Travel to an HPNA Annual event (if applicable)

The deadline to apply is June 1, 2025.

Apply

Eligibility

Advanced Palliative Hospice Social Worker – Certified (APHSW-C)
Members of the HPCC board, Examination Development Committees, and Awards Selection Committee are ineligible

Criteria

The individual personifies excellence in the professional practice of hospice/palliative social work
The individual has made contributions at the advanced practice level in at least one of the following areas of hospice/palliative care: clinical practice, education, or research
The individual provides leadership through mentorship of others in hospice/palliative care

Judging

All nominations are reviewed and the recipient is selected by the Awards Selection Committee of HPCC

HPCC APHSW-C of the Year Award Recipients

2025 – Dawn Gramling, LISW-S, LMSW, ACHP-SW, APHSW-C, CDP, CCM

Dawn Gramling has 20 years of experience as a medical social worker. She is a certified hospice and palliative care social worker and a certified dementia practitioner, and she holds social work licensure in Michigan and Ohio. She has worked at Hospice of Northwest Ohio for seven years as a social work hospice educator for the staff and the community. In addition, she works as a part-time instructor in the social work department at the University of Toledo. Her passion for gerontology, dementia, and complex medical care is equally weighted with her passion for supporting the professional caregiver.

2024