Our Story

Who We Are

We are an emerging network of social work organizations and leaders who seek to further the field of end-of-life and hospice/palliative care… in other words, we are advancing the role of the social worker in caring for the seriously ill, providing relief from pain, improving quality of life, supporting family and friends, assisting with difficult decision-making, and help in dealing with trauma, grief and loss.

Our Purpose

SWHPN is developing professional alliances with leading organizations, strengthening ties with schools of social work, the Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life and Palliative Care (JSWEOL), and between practice, education, and research. SWHPN was not created to duplicate existing social work organizations in palliative and end-of-life care, but is meant to be inclusive.

Our History

This network grew out of the Social Work Leadership Development Awards Program, sponsored by the Open Society Institute’s Project on Death in America, a project of the Soros Foundation. This program of 42 social work leaders, led by Dr. Grace Christ, helped coordinate the 1st Social Work Summit on End-of-Life and Palliative Care in 2002, which through a consensus process created a priority map for furthering the field. The attendees of the 2nd Social Work Summit in June of 2005 created a steering committee, a monograph report, and other concrete next steps.

In June of 2007, the 501c3 was officially established to incorporate the goals of SWHPN, a board of directors came together and officers were elected. Read the bios of these accomplished leaders and the introductory media release.

Membership and Conferences

SWHPN began accepting founding members in December 2007. The first and second official SWHPN conferences were held — free of charge — during the joint Annual Assembly of AAHPM/HPNA: January 2008 in Tampa, Florida and March 2009 in Austin, Texas. A third conference was held March 3rd, 2010 in Boston, Massachusetts, again at the AAHPM/HPNA Annual Assembly. Members may download all audio and slides from these conferences on the SWHPN Member Dashboard.

Contact us

The SWHPN Board of Directors