Regulatory Alignment

CHAPCA Certified leadership training addresses the California hospice management personnel education requirements established under Title 22, Section 74880.

CHAPCA CERTIFIED

One Program. Three Credentials. One Stronger Hospice Leadership Team.

A comprehensive three-day interdisciplinary leadership intensive for California hospice Administrators, Medical Directors, Directors of Patient Care Services, and their respective designees.

CHAPCA Certified does more than educate individual leaders. It strengthens the hospice leadership team’s ability to work across disciplines, fulfill its responsibilities, and support coordinated, compliant, high-quality, patient- and family-centered care.

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Built on the Interdisciplinary Principles of Hospice Care

One Three-Day Intensive. Three Role-Specific Certification Pathways. One Leadership Team.

Hospice care is founded on interdisciplinary collaboration. CHAPCA Certified applies that same principle to hospice leadership.

California hospice Administrators, Administrator Designees, Medical Directors, Medical Director Designees, Directors of Patient Care Services, and Director of Patient Care Services Designees participate together in one comprehensive three-day leadership intensive.

Rather than educating each leadership role in isolation, CHAPCA Certified places operational, medical, and clinical leaders side by side throughout the program.

Participants develop a shared understanding of hospice operations, patient care, regulatory compliance, quality, risk, and organizational accountability while completing the curriculum and assessments applicable to their designated leadership role.

This interdisciplinary structure helps hospice leaders understand not only their own responsibilities, but also how their decisions affect the entire leadership team, the hospice interdisciplinary team, and, most importantly, patients and families.

Three Leadership Disciplines. Shared Organizational Accountability.

California regulations identify the Administrator, Administrator Designee, Director of Patient Care Services, Director of Patient Care Services Designee, Medical Director, and Medical Director Designee as hospice management personnel.

Administrator / Administrator Designee

Operational Leadership Pathway

Hospice Operations and Administration
Financial and Risk Management
Personnel and Organizational Oversight
Quality Improvement
Regulatory Compliance

The Administrator is appointed by the hospice governing body to organize and direct the services and functions of the hospice. The Administrator Designee assumes the same responsibilities and obligations when the Administrator is unavailable.

Medical Director / Medical Director Designee

Medical Leadership Pathway

Medical Leadership
Clinical and Patient-Care Oversight
Medication Management
Ethical and Regulatory Responsibilities
Communication and Collaboration

The Medical Director is appointed by the hospice governing body and is responsible for the overall medical direction of the hospice. The Medical Director Designee assumes the same responsibilities and obligations when the Medical Director is unavailable.

Director of Patient Care Services / Director of Patient Care Services Designee

Clinical Leadership Pathway

Care Planning and Coordination
Pain and Symptom Management
Patient and Family Advocacy
Quality and Performance Improvement
Regulatory and Operational Compliance

The Director of Patient Care Services is a registered nurse appointed by the hospice governing body to provide clinical direction and supervision of patient-care services. The Director of Patient Care Services Designee assumes the same responsibilities and obligations when the Director of Patient Care Services is unavailable.

Why the Interdisciplinary Leadership Model Matters

Hospice leadership responsibilities are distinct, but they do not operate in isolation.

Operational decisions affect patient care. Clinical decisions affect staffing, compliance, quality, and organizational risk. Medical leadership influences eligibility, care planning, symptom management, medication oversight, and communication throughout the hospice.

Effective hospice leadership requires each leader to understand both the boundaries of their own authority and the points at which their responsibilities intersect with those of the other leadership disciplines.

CHAPCA Certified prepares leaders to:

Understand their individual role, authority, and accountability
Recognize where leadership responsibilities intersect
Communicate across operational, medical, and clinical disciplines
Identify gaps, conflicts, and shared compliance risks
Strengthen organizational accountability
Support coordinated, high-quality care for patients and families

How the Program Works

1. Attend the Three-Day Interdisciplinary Intensive

All candidates participate together throughout the full three-day CHAPCA Certified Leadership Training program.

2. Learn Across Leadership Disciplines

Candidates receive shared instruction on regulatory, operational, medical, clinical, quality, and patient-care responsibilities that require coordinated leadership.

3. Complete the Role-Specific Curriculum

Each candidate completes the curriculum requirements assigned to the Administrator, Medical Director, or Director of Patient Care Services certification pathway.

Candidates serving as designees complete the pathway applicable to the corresponding leadership role.

4. Complete the Required Assessments

Candidates complete the attendance, participation, documentation, and assessment requirements established for their designated pathway.

5. Earn the Role-Specific CHAPCA Certified Credential

CHAPCA awards the applicable role-specific credential after verifying successful completion of all program requirements.

One Program. Three Role-Specific Credentials.

Successful candidates earn the CHAPCA Certified credential applicable to their designated pathway:

CHAPCA Certified Administrator

For candidates participating as an Administrator or Administrator Designee.

CHAPCA Certified Medical Director

For candidates participating as a Medical Director or Medical Director Designee.

CHAPCA Certified Director of Patient Care Services

For candidates participating as a Director of Patient Care Services or Director of Patient Care Services Designee.

CHAPCA Certified Program Standards

Board-Authorized Governance

The CHAPCA Board of Directors retains ultimate oversight of CHAPCA Certified.

Role-Specific Curriculum

Each certification pathway is mapped to the responsibilities, competencies, and regulatory subject areas applicable to the designated California hospice management role.

Interdisciplinary Education

Operational, medical, and clinical leaders participate together to develop a shared understanding of the responsibilities that require coordination across the hospice leadership team.

Assessment and Documentation

Attendance, participation, assessments, completion determinations, and credential issuance are documented in accordance with published program standards.

Continuous Regulatory Review

The curriculum, instructional materials, and assessments are reviewed before each program offering and updated when applicable laws, regulations, standards, or guidance change.

Candidate Resources

Candidates should review all applicable program requirements, materials, and policies before registering or participating.

Candidate Manual

Three-Day Training Agenda

Candidate Polices

Assessment Administration Standards

Appeals Policy

Governance and Oversight

The CHAPCA Board of Directors retains ultimate oversight of CHAPCA Certified.

The CHAPCA Certification Board provides program and credentialing oversight in accordance with its Board-approved charter. The CHAPCA Executive Committee and President and CEO support program governance and administration within the authority delegated by the Board of Directors.

The CHAPCA Certification Board includes:

One hospice Administrator or senior operational leader
One Director of Patient Care Services or senior clinical leader
One hospice Medical Director or physician leader
One regulatory, compliance, quality, or legal subject-matter expert
The CHAPCA President and CEO, serving as an ex officio, nonvoting liaison

View the Certification Board Charter

Important Program Notice

CHAPCA Certified is a private, role-specific credential awarded by CHAPCA based on documented completion of the applicable education, attendance, participation, and assessment requirements.

CHAPCA Certified is not a professional license, state-issued certification, guarantee of employment or appointment, or representation that the California Department of Public Health has approved or endorsed either the participant or the program.

The employing hospice remains responsible for determining whether an individual satisfies all applicable licensing, appointment, employment, orientation, training, annual education, competency, experience, and personnel-record requirements.

Build a Stronger Hospice Leadership Team

Prepare your hospice leaders to understand their individual responsibilities, work across disciplines, and support coordinated, compliant, patient- and family-centered care.

One Three-Day Intensive.

Three Role-Specific Credentials.