Celebrating Excellence: Joan Hanson Receives National Recognition

We are proud to share that Joan Hanson, MSN, RN, CHPCA, our Director of the Western Reserve Navigator Palliative Care and recently served as Clinical Director for Hospice for North Central Ohio, has been selected as the 2025 CHPCA Certificant of the Year by the Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center (HPCC)!

This prestigious award honors Joan’s exceptional leadership, dedication, and commitment to advancing quality care in hospice and palliative settings. Her work has made a lasting impact on patients, families, and the broader healthcare community, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to see her recognized on a national level.

Joan received the award at the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine/Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association Annual Assembly in early February, in Denver, Colorado. She accepted this honor on behalf of all those who work tirelessly to provide compassionate, end-of-life care.

Please join us in celebrating Joan’s incredible achievement! Her dedication inspires us all, and we are grateful for her leadership in serving our mission and our communities.

Joan M. Hanson, MSN, RN, CHPCA, is a highly respected leader in hospice and palliative care with nearly four decades of experience in nursing and healthcare management. Currently serving as the Director of the Western Reserve Navigator Palliative Care for Hospice of the Western Reserve in Cleveland, Ohio, she has made substantial contributions to advancing palliative care practices and certification initiatives within the organization.

Joan earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Akron in 1985 and completed her Master of Science in Nursing with a focus on Healthcare Management at Kent State University in 2020. Throughout her career, Joan has held influential roles across several Ohio hospice organizations.

From January to July 2024, she served as the interim executive director for Hospice of North Central Ohio (HNCO), overseeing the integration of HNCO into the Hospice of the Western Reserve. On August 1, 2024, she assumed the role of Clinical Director for North Central Ohio, managing clinical operations across Ashland, Knox, and Richland counties—a role she will continue through the end of 2024. She has guided the HNCO integration with Hospice of the Western Reserve while maintaining her roles as Director of the Western Reserve Navigator Palliative Care, which provides advanced illness management and community-based non-hospice care for patients with chronic conditions, ensuring they receive the appropriate level of care at every stage.

As part of Hospice of the Western Reserve's management team, Joan has been instrumental in promoting certification among hospice and palliative care providers. She chairs the Hospice and Palliative Care Certification Committee, ensuring that staff have access to high-quality education and resources that underscore the organization’s commitment to excellence in patient care. In addition, she has experience working with Advanced Illness Management programming and shared savings models of care. 

Joan is a member of the Hospice and Palliative Care Nursing Association and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. Joan is also a certified Hospice and Palliative Care Administrator.

She has presented nationally at conferences on palliative care innovation, community partnerships, and care transitions. Her dedication to advancing the quality of care in hospice and palliative settings has earned her multiple recognitions, including the Barbara Donaho Distinguished Leadership in Learning Award from Kent State University.