Executive Director
Gentiva Hospice
Children & Family Support Services
1400 Donelson Pike Ste B5
Nashville
TNUSA
37217
Biographical Sketch: I received a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 2001. Began my nursing career as a pediatric nurse at Hemby Children’s Hospital in Charlotte, NC (2001-2004). Then moved into a Travel Nurse position at Duke University on the Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Unit (2004). Interested in improving end of life to children in the home and hospital, began working at VNA Home Health and Hospice in Key West, Florida (2005). Continued my pediatric nursing career at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY (2006) while completing a Master’s in Science of Palliative Nursing from Daemen College (2007). Midway through completing my Master’s degree, I implemented a pediatric palliative care program at The Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters. This hospital is a 212 bed, free-standing Children’s Hospital where I provided the entire hospital with pain and palliative care consultations and collaborated with local agencies and entities that provided care to the same patient population (2006-2009). In 2009, I moved into my current position at Covenant Hospice as the Director, Children & Family Support Services, where I oversaw a pediatric community-base palliative care that serves a total of 12 counties (I implemented serves to 8 of those counties) as well as implementing a broad children’s bereavement program. Currently, I am the Gilchrist Kids Clinical Manager in HUnt valley, MD. I am also an active memeber of the Alliance Kids and serve as the facilitator of the Subcommittee for Concurrent Care for Children. I recently was selected as a member of the NHPCO Pedaitric Advisory Council.
I have presented at the local, state, and national level. Locally, I have lectured to all healthcare professionals on various pediatric pain and palliative care topics. I was a featured pediatric presenter at the Alabama Hospice Association’s Annual Conference. I have also been a faculty member with the Initiative for Pediatric Palliative Care (IPPC) since 2008. I am currently a Board member for The Center for Hope & Healing, Inc and The Kevin Patrick Hands to Heaven, Inc. I served as member of the Florida Partners In Care: Together For Kids Steering Committee and the chair of the Education Pillar Group for the Florida Pediatric Palliative Care Consortium.