The Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center

What The Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center does

The Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center (HPCC) is a nonprofit professional certification organization that develops and administers standardized credentialing examinations for healthcare professionals working in hospice, palliative, and pediatric care. Operating as part of the "Advancing Expert Care" tri-organization alongside the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA, founded 1986) and the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Foundation (HPNF), HPCC issues eight distinct credentials covering registered nurses (CHPN), advanced practice nurses (ACHPN), social workers (APHSW-C), nursing assistants (CHPNA), pediatric nurses (CHPPN), perinatal loss caregivers (CHPLC, CHPLN), and hospice/palliative administrators/administrators-in-training (CPLC). Nearly 14,500 healthcare professionals hold active HPCC credentials nationwide.

HPCC's operational infrastructure centers on a technology-enabled examination platform. Candidates are assessed using Situational Judgment Exercises, which test applied clinical reasoning, and exams are administered via Live Remote Proctoring to extend access beyond physical test centers. Successful candidates receive verifiable credentials through Digital Badging on the LearningBuilder platform. The APHSW-C credential, originally developed by SWHPN and transferred into HPCC's portfolio, received NCCA accreditation valid through May 31, 2031, and had 843 active certificants as of June 2026. Beyond examination, HPCC publishes preparatory review courses, a pharmacology course, and supporting publications that accompany the certification journey.

Revenue is generated through candidate examination fees, periodic recertification fees, employer partnership programs offering discounted institutional testing access, and ancillary educational products. As a nonprofit, surpluses are reinvested in exam development, psychometrics, accreditation, and the educational mission of the tri-organization. The customer base is highly distributed across thousands of individual clinicians across nursing, social work, and allied health disciplines, with no concentrated reliance on a single employer or institution. HPCC's headquarters are in Carnegie, Pennsylvania, and its scope is national within the United States. Leadership includes CEO Virginia (Ginger) Marshall (retiring March 20, 2027), Board President Kristin Akers, and Executive Vice President Chad Reilly.

Name

The Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center

Legal name

Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center

Website

https://advancingexpertcare.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center (HPCC) is a nonprofit certification body administering eight specialty credentials — including the CHPN, ACHPN, and APHSW-C — to nearly 14,500 healthcare professionals practicing in hospice, palliative, and pediatric care across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Certification Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Continuing Education (CE/CPD) & Provider Accreditation Bodies (EDADACAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Healthcare & Clinical Professional Certifications (EDAAANAI), Education Professionals (Teacher/Administrator CE, CPD) (EDAAALAE)

Keywords

• Hospice certification services
• Palliative care credentials
• Nursing certification programs
• Professional credentialing exams
• Healthcare workforce certification

Headquarters

HQ city

Carnegie

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Certification Exam Fees: Fees charged for initial certification exams across multiple credentials including ACHPN, APHSW-C, CHPCA, CHPLN, CHPN, CHPNA, CHPPN, and CPLC
2. Recertification Fees: Ongoing fees for maintaining credentials through HPAR (Home Health Assessment and Review) and continuing education requirements
3. Employer Partnership Discounts: Volume discounts on HPCC certification exams and HPNA memberships for employer organizations supporting their nursing care teams

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

HPCC develops, administers, and maintains NCCA-accredited certification exams and credentials for healthcare professionals specializing in hospice and palliative care, covering advanced practice nurses, registered nurses, pediatric nurses, licensed practical/vocational nurses, nursing assistants, social workers, administrators, and perinatal loss care specialists. The organization also provides recertification management through LearningBuilder, Live Remote Proctoring for exams, Digital Badging, and Situational Judgment Exercises for ongoing competency demonstration.

Product overview

HPCC operates as a certification body offering eight distinct credentials for healthcare professionals in hospice and palliative care: ACHPN® (Advanced Practice RN), APHSW-C® (Social Worker), CHPCA® (Administrator), CHPLN® (Licensed Practical Nurse), CHPN® (Registered Nurse), CHPNA® (Nursing Assistant), CHPPN® (Pediatric RN), and CPLC® (Perinatal Loss Care). Nearly 14,500 healthcare professionals hold HPCC credentials. HPCC's parent organization HPNA provides complementary educational products including the HPNA Learning Center with self-paced modules, interactive certification review courses for each credential type, pharmacology courses, and publications including Core Curricula and Study Guides. Supporting services include Live Remote Proctoring for exams, reTEST Assured for retakes, Digital Badging for credential display, LearningBuilder for recertification management, and Situational Judgment Exercises for ongoing professional development. The portfolio follows a platform-plus-modules architecture where the eight certification credentials form the core offering, supported by education, proctoring, and professional development services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• APHSW-C: Advanced Palliative Hospice Social Worker - Certified credential program for experienced hospice and palliative social workers
• ACHPN
• CHPN
• CHPPN
• CHPLN
• CHPNA
• CHPCA
• CPLC

Products and services

• ACHPN® Certification (Advanced Practice Registered Nurse) Advanced Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse credential for advanced practice registered nurses working in hospice and palliative care settings.
• APHSW-C® Certification (Advanced Palliative Hospice Social Worker) Advanced Palliative Hospice Social Worker-Certified credential for experienced hospice and palliative social workers, consisting of 150 multiple-choice items with testing windows in March, June, September, and December. NCCA accredited through May 31, 2031.
• CHPCA® Certification (Certified Hospice and Palliative Care Administrator) Credential for certified hospice and palliative care administrators.
• CHPLN® Certification (Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurse) Certified Hospice and Palliative Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurse credential for LPNs/LVNs.
• CHPN® Certification (Registered Nurse) Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse credential for registered nurses, the most widely held HPCC certification.
• CHPNA® Certification (Nursing Assistant) Certified Hospice and Palliative Nursing Assistant credential for nursing assistants.
• CHPPN® Certification (Pediatric Registered Nurse) Certified Hospice and Palliative Pediatric Nurse credential for pediatric registered nurses.
• CPLC® Certification (Perinatal Loss Care) Certified in Perinatal Loss Care credential for specialists in perinatal loss care.
• Live Remote Proctoring (LRP) Remote proctoring service enabling certification candidates to take certification exams from their own location with live monitoring.
• reTEST Assured Exam retake assurance program for certification candidates.
• Digital Badging Digital credential issuance service for certified professionals to display their credentials online.
• LearningBuilder Recertification Platform Online platform for managing certification recertification through continuing education and professional development activities.
• HPNA Learning Center Online platform providing up-to-date, convenient, and self-paced learning modules with real-time test grading and printing of NCPD certificates, based on current healthcare trends and clinical issues.
• ACHPN® Interactive Review Course Self-paced interactive review course with four modules including interactive case studies and knowledge checks for ACHPN® certification exam preparation.
• CHPN® Interactive Review Course Self-paced interactive review course with six modules including interactive case studies and knowledge checks; awards 6.0 NCPD contact hours upon completion.
• CHPLN® Interactive Review Course Self-paced interactive review course with seven modules covering patient care in end-stage disease process, pain management, symptom management, and other topics.
• CHPNA Certification Lecture Review Course Online review course with four modules designed for nursing assistants preparing for the CHPNA® exam, available for three months from registration.
• Online CHPPN® Certification Review Course Self-paced recorded lecture review course with seven modules for CHPPN® certification exam preparation.
• Pharmacology in Practice: Palliative Pearls, Powerful Protocols, and Real-World Solutions On-demand collection featuring top-rated sessions on cardiovascular pharmacotherapy, opioid conversions, proportional sedation, complex pain syndromes, psychiatric meds, and medication administration. Awards 9.0 NCPD contact hours and 9.0 pharmacotherapeutic contact hours.
• Core Curriculum for the Hospice and Palliative Registered Nurse (5th Edition) Evidence-based practice book edited by nationally recognized HPNA subject matter experts covering Patient Care-Assessment and Planning, Pain and Symptom Management, Patient and Family Care, and Practice Issues.
• Core Curriculum for the Hospice and Palliative APRN (4th Edition) Essential preparation resource organized by the four domains of the Detailed Content Outline for the ACHPN® exam: Assessment and Data Collection, Intervention and Management, Education and Communication, and Professionalism and Practice.
• Core Curriculum for the Hospice and Palliative NA and Study Guide (5th Edition) Essential tool for nursing assistants organized by the four domains of the Detailed Content Outline for the CHPNA® exam.
• Core Curriculum for the Hospice and Palliative LPVN (3rd Edition) Comprehensive resource for licensed practical/vocational nurses covering all aspects of hospice and palliative nursing practice with integrated study guide.
• Core Curriculum for the Hospice and Palliative Pediatric Nurse (3rd Edition) Essential resource for pediatric registered nurses organized by the five domains of the Detailed Content Outline for the CHPPN® exam.
• Scope, Standards, and Competencies for the Hospice and Palliative RN and APRN First edition resource defining, supporting, and elevating the practice of hospice and palliative nursing across all settings, unified with scope, standards, and competencies.
• APRN Textbook Bundle – ACHPN® Exam Prep – 4th Edition Bundle including Core Curriculum for the Hospice and Palliative APRN and Study Guide for exam preparation.

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 14,500 healthcare professionals hold HPCC credentials
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Social Work Hospice and Palliative Care Network (SWHPN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSWHPN supports the APHSW-C certification program and its members receive discounted pricing on examinations and recertification. This partnership expands access to social work certification in hospice and palliative care.
• National Alliance for Care at HomecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational Alliance for Care at Home supports the APHSW-C certification program and its members receive discounted pricing on examinations and recertification.
• National Coalition for Hospice and Palliative Care (NCHPC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHPCC CEO Ginger Marshall served in leadership roles including board president, treasurer, and secretary. HPNA (affiliated organization) participates in NCHPC comment letters on CMS hospice rules and policy matters affecting the specialty.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• National Board of Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists (NBCRNA): NBCRNA credentials nurse anesthetists through NCCA-accredited exams with recurring recertification cycles. It is comparable as a specialty nursing certification body with the same revenue architecture.
• Competency & Credentialing Institute (CCI): CCI provides NCCA-accredited certifications for specialty nursing roles including perioperative and cardiovascular nursing. It mirrors HPCC's model of multi-credential specialty certification bodies.
• Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN): BCEN certifies emergency nurses across multiple specialty credentials under NCCA accreditation. It is directly comparable in product structure, candidate base, and recertification model.
• Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation (ONCC): ONCC offers NCCA-accredited specialty nursing certifications in oncology, paralleling HPCC's structure of multiple role-based credentials within a single specialty. It is the closest direct peer in scale and model.

Others

• National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA): NCCA is the accreditation body itself, not a competitor, but functions as an ecosystem gatekeeper for organizations like HPCC. It is relevant as the standard-setting authority that defines HPCC's quality bar.

Broad incumbents

• American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC): ANCC is the largest U.S. nursing credentialing body, offering specialty and APRN certifications across many disciplines. It is comparable as a peer NCCA-accredited nursing certification organization, though HPCC's narrow specialization in hospice/palliative is a key differentiator.

Emerging players

• Hospice & Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA): HPNA is HPCC's sister organization under Advancing Expert Care, providing complementary education, publications, and membership infrastructure. While not a direct competitor, it is a closely related peer in the hospice/palliative professional services space.
• Social Work Hospice and Palliative Care Network (SWHPN): SWHPN is a partner that supports the APHSW-C credential and offers education to hospice and palliative social workers. Comparable as an adjacent specialty organization with overlapping candidate base.

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/hpnainfo
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/HPNAinformation
• Facebookfacebook.com/HPCCinfo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-hospice-and-palliative-credentialing-center
• Instagraminstagram.com/hpcc_info

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center