Meet our 2024 Board Members

It is with great enthusiasm that I introduce our 2024 board members. 

Congratulations to our new members Yvonne and Lisa!

2024 President and Treasurer: 

Karen Mulvihill DNR, APRN, FNP-C, ACPHN

Dr. Mulvihill has over twenty years of experience as a clinician, leader, and educator in hospice and palliative care.  She received her master’s degree as a Family Nurse Practitioner from Sacred Heart University and a Doctor of Nursing Practice from Oakland University in 2012.  She is the System Clinical Coordinator of Palliative Care Services for Nuvance Health and has been with the Palliative Care program since its start in 2003. She is the Chair of the State of Connecticut Advisory Council on Palliative Care. She is an active member of the Hospice and Palliative Care Nurses Association on both the state and national level. 

2024 President-Elect:

Yvonne Joy, DNP, MBA, FNP-C, ACHPN, APRN i

Associate Professor of Nursing and Director of Graduate Nursing Programs at the University of Saint Joseph. She is an ELNEC trainer and holds train-the-trainer workshops regularly. She owns and operates her own private practice in primary care and sees Hospice patients for a local provider. She is passionate about bringing palliative care to primary care and creating opportunities to have difficult conversations.  

2024 Secretary: 

Lisa McCabe, MSN, CCRN, NPD-BC, NC-BC, PCNS-BC, CHPPN, APRN

“I have enjoyed 40 years of nursing practice as a staff nurse, nurse educator, and APRN, earning my MSN in 2010 as a Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist.  My clinical specialty for most of my career has been pediatric cardiac care (acute and critical care), with a complementary passion for pediatric palliative care.  In 2011, I completed a post-grad certificate in Pediatric Palliative Care at Boston College, and in 2023 earned my CHPPN certification.  As a holistic nurse, I focus on the whole person and family, not just the disease or presenting problem. Over the years, I have incorporated holistic nurse coaching, Reiki, and other modalities to my personal and professional practice and I recently completed an academy scholar course in Pediatric Integrative Medicine through the Academy of Pediatric Integrative Medicine.  Palliative care, for me, is the ultimate blending of all these experiences to support patients and families as they walk their life journey with serious illness, not to be defined by it but to manage the highs and lows with resilience and hope.  I hope that we can advance the availability and quality of palliative care services and resources in CT through education, key partnerships, and appropriate funding sources to make a difference in the lives of those living with serious illnesses across the life spectrum.  I believe that the networking and education opportunities of the CT Chapter of HPNA are an essential part of that work”.

Program Chair:

Amisha Parekh de Campos, PhD, MPH, RN, CHPN  

Amisha has a joint appointment as an Assistant Clinical Professor University of Connecticut School of Nursing and Quality and Education Coordinator of the Middlesex Health Hospice Program, Middletown, CT. Amisha received her PhD in Nursing from the University of Connecticut (2020), BS and MPH in Global Health from the George Washington University (2001 & 2005). She received her BSN from the University of St. Joseph in 2009; additional certifications include hospice and palliative care (CHPN). Amisha started her career in public health, establishing public health clinics and training community health workers in rural areas of south India and the Dominican Republic. She led initiatives on preventing HIV, tuberculosis, and mosquito-borne illnesses with community, government, and private organizations.

Amisha has worked in hospice home care in various leadership roles for the past ten years,

including community liaison and clinical supervisor. Currently, she manages research, quality,

education, and orientation for the Hospice Homecare program, which serves approximately

150,000 people in Connecticut. In addition, Amisha is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the

University of Connecticut, School of Nursing working towards enhancing palliative care

curriculum and education among undergraduate students. She is a Robert Wood Johnson,

Future of Nursing Scholar (2017-2020) and Jonas Scholar for Chronic Health (2017-2020). In

2019, Amisha received the 2019 Hospice and Palliative Nurses Foundation Scholarship to fund

a study in advance care planning through simulation with registered nurses. She is the 2021

recipient of the Hospice and Palliative Credentialling Center Certified Hospice and Palliative

Nurse of the Year and recipient of the 2021 Young Investigator Award from the Connecticut

Coalition to Improve End of Life Care. Amisha was also featured in the Journal of Hospice and

Palliative Nursing.

Amisha’s research program focuses on end-of-life care communication. Her dissertation

focused on simulation among registered nurses in advance care planning communication.

Working at a community health system, she has noticed the disparities in end-of-life care among

Blacks. With her public health background and working with communities, she would like to

assess the barriers and facilitators to end-of-life care and provide interventions to expand EOL

services to this population.

Past President:

Lynn Allchin, PhD, RN, CNE (certified nurse educator)  

Lynn began her nursing career in 1975 on a medical unit and was drawn to the oncology patients. Did oncology nursing on and off for the next 9 years. Worked PRN on medical units for 6 years while having two children and pursuing PhD (directed to women with ovarian cancer). Spent 20 years teaching mostly undergraduate nursing students at UCONN and NAU, then worked 6 years with gyn oncology patients in a clinic setting. Finished her active career at UCONN, teaching skills labs and physical assessment to nursing students part-time. Now, she is enjoying her grandchildren and assisting elderly parents. Best position? Staff nurse by far. Was actively involved with ONS in Ohio and Connecticut for many years and was a founding member of the Charter Oak Connecticut Chapter of HPNA.

Sincerely,

 Karen Mulvihill, DNP, APRN

President 

Charter Oak Chapter of the HPNA