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2026 SWHPN
Annual Forum
Strength in Connection: Facing Change as a Community
May 7-8 | Virtual Conference
More info coming soon!
ABOUT THE FORUM
Strength in Connection: Facing Change as a Community
Mark your calendar for Thursday, May 7, 2026 and Friday, May 8, 2026 for SWHPN’s 2026 Virtual Forum, “Strength in Connection: Facing Change as a Community”. This is a virtual conference bringing together palliative and hospice social workers to explore the power of connection, resilience, and shared purpose. In a care landscape shaped by systemic inequities, shifting policies, and ongoing challenges in how care is delivered, this gathering creates space to reflect, learn, and grow together. By hosting this Forum virtually, we aim to increase accessibility for hospice and palliative care social workers who are being deeply impacted by budget cuts—ensuring we can continue to connect with and support one another across geographic and financial barriers. Through expert-led sessions and engaging dialogue, we will empower ourselves, one another, and the communities we serve—centering equity, honoring diverse experiences, and strengthening our commitment to providing compassionate, person-centered care in an ever-changing world.
We look forward to gathering again in person in 2027 to continue building on this vital connection and shared purpose.
KEY BENEFITS: WHY ATTEND?
Engage, Grow and Reconnect with Purpose
Expand your knowledge with education with an array of topics relevant to our community.
Access Peer Support
Connect with like-hearted colleagues who understand the unique challenges and rewards of this field.
Root Into Your Values
Participate in discussions that honor social work’s core values: Service, Social Justice, Dignity and Worth of the Person and Integrity.
Expanded Reach
Our goal for the 2026 forum is community and education with increased accessibility because of the virtual platform. We value in person as well and plan to be back in person in 2027!
Expand Your Network
Build lasting connections with colleagues and leaders in the field, creating a supportive professional community for years to come.
Reignite Your Purpose
This forum hopes to have you feeling energized, inspired, and equipped to carry on your essential work.
TESTIMONIALS
What people are saying
I had been a hospice social worker for 10 years and had recently made the transition to inpatient palliative care social work. I thought with 10 years under my belt this would be a seamless transition. I was wrong. I went from feeling like a highly competent professional to feeling like an impostor. All I wanted was to be able to help these patients and families I was encountering day to day. In the midst of my professional crisis I learned about SWHPN and their upcoming conference in New Orleans.
My experience at the conference was transformative. I connected with other social workers going through what I was going through. From all of the sessions I attended I was able to build a new foundation for my clinical practice. In the months following the conference this new foundation renewed my sense of competence, meaning, and purpose. This experience is what has sustained my passion for SWHPN and its role in supporting hospice and palliative care social workers nationwide.
Chris Onderdonk
The world we imagine
OUR VISION
All people living with serious illnesses have access to compassionate, comprehensive, whole-person care that honors lived experiences and is accountable to historical harms.
What we stand for
OUR MISSION
SWHPN enhances hospice and palliative care social work through mentorship, education, community building and advocacy as change agents committed to equity and anti-racism. We start with ourselves to dismantle harms perpetuated within the systems in which we exist.
TESTIMONIALS
Hear from past participants
I vividly recall joining SWHPN and attending my first annual conference in San Diego (2014). As a member of this organization, I have made lifelong friends, attended workshops to learn new skills and gained confidence to move into leadership roles. Without a doubt, SWHPN been the most important professional network I’ve been a part of.
Esther Hope Ammon
CONTINUING EDUCATION
Continuing Education Information
More information coming soon!