Circle of Life Award: Celebrating Innovation in Palliative and End-of-Life Care

Apply now for the 2026 Circle of Life Award

Is your organization raising the bar in palliative or serious illness care? We invite you to apply for the 2026 Circle of Life Award.

One of health care’s highest honors, the Circle of Life Award celebrates innovation in palliative and end-of-life care and seeks to provide best practices and models for the field. Programs/organizations that are making progress as shown in metrics and current data deserve to be recognized.

Up to three Circle of Life Awards will be presented; the Award Committee also may present Citations of Honor to other noteworthy programs. The awards will be presented at the 2026 AHA Leadership Summit, July 12-14, in Denver.

Applications are due noon Central Time, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. Preview the Circle of Life Award application.

Contact circleoflife@aha.org with questions.

2026 Circle of Life Award Sponsors

Supporting sponsors of the 2026 award are the American Hospital Association and the Catholic Health Association. Contributing sponsors are the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, the Center to Advance Palliative Care, the Hospice & Palliative Nurses Association/the Hospice & Palliative Credentialing Center/the Hospice & Palliative Nurses Foundation, and the National Association of Social Workers.

2023 Circle of Life Award Recipients Announced

Congratulations to 2023 Circle of Life Award winners Center for Hospice Care, Mishawaka, Ind., and the Palliative Care Program at Johns Hopkins Bayview, Baltimore, and to Citation of Honor recipient Prospero Health. This year’s honorees were recognized at the AHA Leadership Summit in Seattle.

To learn more about the winners and Citation of Honor recipient, please read the honoree booklet or watch the celebratory video.

About the Award

Readiness

How do you know if your organization is ready to apply for a Circle of Life Award?

An innovative palliative or end-of-life care provider that is measuring and evaluating the impact of its work on patients, family, and/or the community is ready to apply for a Circle of Life award.

Honorees typically are:

• emphasizing coordinated or integrated care delivery throughout all settings
• engaging underserved populations
• promoting palliative care in diverse populations
• using strategies for engaging communities
• creating partnerships with other health care organizations and practitioners, and initiatives within long-term care facilities.

Please contact circleoflife@aha.org with questions.

• Digital Toolkit
• Past Honorees
• Committee Members
• Sponsors