Four certified nursing assistants with the Lower Cape Fear Hospice have specialized in hospice and palliative care. They are the first group in the nonprofit organization to obtain this type of certification.
 
Cathy Coleman, Tameca Bethea, Amy Grove and Myra Williams, each passed a national exam to become certified hospice and palliative care nursing assistants (CHPNA), according to the Lower Cape Fear Hospice.
 
To be eligible to take the exam, an applicant must have 500 hours of hospice and palliative nursing assistant practice in the past 12 months or 1000 hours in the past 24 months under the supervision of a registered nurse.
 
Coleman is a hospice aide at the Dr. Robert M. Fales Hospice Pavilion in Wilmington and has been with the agency for eight years. Bethea has served Lower Cape Fear Hospice for almost five years and works as a hospice aide in Columbus County. Williams has been with Lower Cape Fear Hospice for more than a year and works as a hospice aide in Horry County. Grove is hospice aide in Onslow County and has been with the agency for more than three years.
 
"I'm very thankful to Lower Cape Fear Hospice for giving me the opportunity to further my education," Grove said in the release. "The certification will help me take better care of my patients and contribute more to my interdisciplinary team."
 
Lower Cape Fear Hospice’s strategic plan, under President and CEO Gwen Whitley, is focused on education that improves care, according to the release.
 
“We pride ourselves in being experts in our field.Eighty percent of our physicians and more than 30 percent of our nurses have achieved advanced certifications in hospice and palliative care," Whitely said in the release. "These four CNAs are our first group of hospice aides who have accomplished earning the certification. We couldn't be prouder of them and their dedication to our mission.”