Wednesday, October 14, 2026
5:00 – 7:00 pm Early Registration
Thursday, October 15, 2026
7:30 am – 4:30 pm Registration Desk Open
7:30 am – 4:30 pm Vendor Exhibits Open
7:30 – 8:30 am Continental Breakfast
8:30 – 10:15 am Welcome & Opening Keynote
Victoria Sweet, MD, PhD
Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California San Francisco
10:15 – 10:45 am Morning Break
10:45 – 11:45 am Breakout Sessions I
Advance Care Planning in Dementia: Preparing for Critical Decisions
Esther J. Luo, MD, Outpatient Palliative Care Physician Lead, The Permanente Medical Group, Santa Clara Medical Center
Sandy Trieu, MD, HMDC, Hospice and Palliative Medicine Physician, Associate Professor of Palliative Medicine, Stanford Health Care
Too Poor to Die: Inequity, Homelessness, and the Hidden Realities of End-of-Life Care
Chris Erdman, PhD, MDiv, Director, Center of Loss & Hope and Mission Advancement, YoloCares
Amy Shea, PhD, MFA, Writing Program Director, Mount Tamalpais College
The Art of Letting Go: A Narrative Medicine Journey with Ketamine-Assisted Therapy
Michael D. Fratkin, MD, FAAHPM, Physician/Board President, Institute for Rural Psychedelic Care
Reframing Care for Unrepresented Residents
Yarin Ascencio, MSW, Health Program Manager II, Office of Long-Term Care Patient Representative, California Department of Aging
Empowering Families for Complex Transitions from Pediatric to Adult Care (Pediatric Track)
Kimberly Bower, MD, HMDC, FAAHPM, Medical Director of Pediatric Programs, The Elizabeth Hospice
Debra Lotstein, MD, MPH, FAAP, FAAHPM, Medical Director, Center for Health Adolescent Transition, Children's Hospital of Los Angeles
Stephanie Schmitt, MD, Director of Education, Palliative Care, UC San Diego
11:45 am – 12:45 pm Networking Lunch
1:00 – 1:45 pm Interactive Sessions
1:45 – 2:00 pm Afternoon Break
2:00 – 3:00 pm Breakout Session II
Honoring What Matters Most for Nursing Home Patients
Zoe Sutton, MSN, Director, Managerial Consulting, Kaiser Permanente Northern California
Hannah Whitehead, RN, MSN, GNP-BC, Clinical Practice Leader, Kaiser Permanente Northern California
Monica Guo, MPH, Senior Managerial Consultant, Kaiser Permanenten Northern California
Aveline M. Belle, BSN, RN, Nurse Manager, Kaiser Permanente Northern California
Applying Maternalism in Life and Death Medical Decision Making
Chris Onderdonk, MSW, LCSW, APHSW-C, Palliative Care Social Worker, UC San Diego Health, Doris A. Howell Palliative Care Teams
Kyle P. Edmonds, MD, FAAHPM, Professor, Department of Medicine, UC San Diego School of Medicine
Rebuilding the Healthcare Workforce Pipeline Through Community Collaboration
Alexis Oberlander, Senior Program Manager, By the Bay Health
Robertina Szolarova, RN, MS, Chief Administrative Officer, By the Bay Health
Jesse Madsen, Director of College and Career Readiness, Marin County Office of Education
There's No Place Like Home: Pediatric Extubation Outside the Hospital (Pediatric Track)
David M. Steinhorn, MD, Pediatric Hospice Medical Director, Hinds Lifecare/Hinds Kids
Alexis Morvant, MD, Medical Director, QoLA Pediatric Palliative Care, Stanford Children's Health
3:00 – 3:30 pm Break
3:30 – 5:00 pm General Session – ACP Innovation Award
Friday, October 16, 2026
7:00 – 8:15 am Special POLST Champions Breakfast Session (by invitation only)
7:30 am – 8:30 am Continental Breakfast
7:30 am – 2:00 pm Vendor Exhibits Open
7:30 am – 4:30 pm Registration Desk Open
8:30 – 9:45 am Welcome Back & General Session – Hospice Quality Panel Presentation
9:45 – 10:00 am CCCC Update
Jennifer Moore Ballentine, MA, CEO, Coalition for Compassionate Care of California
10:00 – 10:30 am Morning Break
10:30 – 11:30 am Breakout Session III
Operationalizing Advance Care Planning as Infrastructure Across Care Settings
Jessica Zan, RN, BSN, MAMFC, Vice President, Clinical Implementations & Success, MyDirectives
Cross-Sector Partnerships to Improve Serious Illness Equity Among Chinese Americans
Cynthia X. Pan, MD, FACP, AGSF, Interim Co-Exective Director, Chinese American Coalition for Compassionate Care
Grant Smith, MD, FAAHPM, Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine, Stanford Serious Illness Community Partnerships Team, Stanford Medicine
Jean Yih, MBA, Medical Interpreter/Past Board President, Chinese American Coalition for Compassionate Care
Jeanne Wun, Past Board Chair, Chinese American Coalition for Compassionate Care
I Love a Good Story: Narrative Medicine in Palliative Care
Jeffrey Yee, MD, Division Head, Supportive and Palliative Care, Mercy Medical Group-Dignity Health
Noriko Watson, MD, Physician, Mercy San Juan Palliative Care Team, Mercy Medical Group-Dignity Health
Dilraj Kaur, Resident, Mercy San Juan Medical Center-Dignity Health
Heather Kelly, NP, Nurse Practitioner Palliative Care, Mercy Medical Group-Dignity Health
Empower: Strengthening Communication and Assessment for Patients With Intellectual Disabilities
Colleen Vega, CNS, MS, ACHPN, DNP, Lead Advance Practice Provider, Inpatient Palliative Care and Hospice, Stanford Health Care
Felicia Hui, MD, Palliative Care Physician, Stanford Health Care; Clinical Associate Professor, Stanford Medicine School of Medicine
Kelsey Hansen, LCSW, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Stanford Health Care
Pain Points and Pathways in Pediatric Palliative Care (Pediatric Track)
Margy Mayfield, RN, CEO, Coastal Kids Home Care
Stephanie Gonzalez, MSW, LCSW, Director Palliative Care and Enhanced Care Management, Coastal Kids Home Care
11:30 am – 12:30 pm Networking Lunch
12:30 – 2:00 pm Poster Session
2:00 – 3:00 pm Breakout Session IV
Beyond Self-Care: Building Team and System Responsibility for Clinician Wellness
Kimberly Bower, MD, HMDC, FAAHPM, Medical Director of Pediatric Programs, The Elizabeth Hospice
Gary Buckholz, MD, HMDC, FAAHPM, Affiliate Faculty Director, Institute for Empathy and Compassion at UCSD
JoAnne Auger, RN, Supportive Care Nurse Coordinator, Rady Children's Hospital
Compassion-Driven Compliance: Hospice Care for Aid-in-Dying Patients
Jessica Kaan, DO, MPH, Medical Director, End of Life Washington
Kevin J. Malone, JD, Senior Counsel, Epstein Becker & Green, PC
Thalia DeWolf, RN, CHPN, PHN, Director of Nurse Education and Hospice Outreach, The Academy of Aid-in-Dying Medicine
The Power of Palliative Nurse Champions
Jeannette "Jeannie" Meyer, MSN, RN, CCRN-K, CCNS, PCCN-K, ACHPN, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Palliative Care, UCLA Health
Building a Hospice Collaborative to Facilitate End-of-Life Care
Neil Wenger, MD, MPH, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services, UCLA Health
Jessica Kaltman, MD, Palliative Care Physician, UCLA Health
Anna Chirra, MD, Physician, UCLA Health
Hussai Nuristani, Program Manager, UCLA Health
Transforming Pediatric Palliative Care Through Community and Academic-Medical Center Partnerships (Pediatric Track)
Justin Baker, MD, FAAP, FAAHPM, Chief, Division of Quality of Life and Pediatric Palliative Care, Stanford University
Shekinah Eliassen, CEO, George Mark Children's House
David Cogswell, Design Strategiest, The Holding Company
Thomas "Tom" McNalley, MD, Medical Director, UC San Francisco Benioff Children's Hospital
3:00 – 3:15 pm Afternoon Break
3:15 – 4:30 pm Closing Plenary Session
Diane E. Meier, MD, FACP, FAAHPM
Director Emerita and Strategic Medical Advisor, Center to Advance Palliative Care