I received a notice of this and contacted the national office to ask about it. Here is the reply. So, anyone wanting to become certified in these 2 categories needs to do it before the end of this year.  Sandi Hebley

Hi Sandi,

 The Board has been tracking the finances for a few years, and basically it was not financially feasible. This article gives a little more detail:

 HPCC to Discontinue CHPCA and CHPLN Examinations Beginning in 2018

 Beginning on January 1, 2018, the Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center will no longer offer the Certified Hospice and Palliative Care Administrator (CHPCA) or Certified Hospice and Palliative Licensed Nurse (CHPLN) examinations to new applicants. The last opportunity to earn either the CHPCA or CHPLN as a new credential through examination is December 31, 2017. HPCC will continue to offer a recertification process for individuals who have obtained and maintained these two credentials. 

 A lower than expected number of examination candidates over the past several years has made these programs difficult to maintain. We have 314 total individuals with the CHPCA certification over nearly 10 years of the program, and applications have lowered the last several years, dropping 12.5% between 2015 and 2016. We have over 1,000 CHPLN certificants in 12 years of the program, and applications have dropped here as well, with a decrease in 2016 of over 35%.

 

Those who are currently certified as a CHPCA or CHPLN, or who earn these credentials by December 31, 2017, will be able to renew and maintain them through the Hospice and Palliative Accrual for Recertification (HPAR) process. Detailed information on HPAR is available under recertification at either advancingexpertcare.org/chpca or advancingexpertcare.org/chpln, or you may contact the HPCC staff for additional assistance at 412-787-1057 or hpcc@gohpcc.org. 

 Please let us know if you have further questions.

 Sincerely,

 Kathy Kelso

Credentialing Administrative Assistant

 Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center

One Penn Center West, Suite 425

Pittsburgh, PA 15276

1. 412.282.8214   f. 412.787.9305