The goal of the Deeper Dive Series is to offer a more robust and detailed discussion with (3) 1-hour webinars over three consecutive weeks. With this format, participants will receive in depth instruction in this challenging subject area and have the added benefit of multiple presenters building upon information from previous sessions. Up to 3 CE credits are available for Nurses and Social Workers for the 3 webinars.
9am PT / 10am MT / 11am CT / 12pm ET
Finding the Words: Supporting Children and Families Through Complex Medical Decisions
Presenters:
Jessica Pope, CLS, MT-BC, HPMT, NICU-MT
Oralea Marquardt, LCSW, ACHP-SW
Brave Dialogues at the Bedside: Nursing Focused Communication Skills for High Stakes Conversations
Presenter:
Lauren Hancock, RN, MSN, CHPPN, CPNP-AC
Bravery In Action: Advance Care Planning and DNRs
Presenter:
Jacinda Hays, DO, FAAP, FAAHPM
Series bundle will be available for purchase in September.
Webinar #1: Supporting Children's Unique Spiritual Signatures in Palliative Care
Webinar #2: Art & Culture: Understanding the Spirituality and Experiences of Adolescents and Young Adults
Webinar #3: The Spiritual World(s) of Parents and Caregivers of Children with Medical Complexity
Jessica Pope, CLS, MT-BC, HPMT, NICU-MT / Oralea Marquardt, LCSW-QS, ACHP-SW
Brief Description:
Helping families work through the many difficult decisions they must face…
Conversations about complex medical decisions and advance care planning are some of the most challenging for healthcare professionals, children, and families alike. Yet, when approached with compassion, skill, and sensitivity, these discussions can foster trust, reduce uncertainty, and ensure that care reflects what matters most to the child and family. Psychosocial professionals play a vital role in creating the emotional safety and supportive relationships needed for these meaningful conversations.
Designed for social workers, music therapists, child life specialists, counselors, psychologists, chaplains, nurses, and other professionals caring for children with serious illness, this webinar will explore the unique contributions of psychosocial team members in supporting advance care planning within the interdisciplinary team. Participants will learn how psychosocial assessment, developmentally appropriate communication, cultural humility, and creative therapeutic interventions can foster meaningful conversations while empowering children and families to actively participate in care planning. Through practical strategies and real-world application, attendees will gain confidence in creating safe, supportive environments that promote ongoing, family-centered advance care planning discussions.
Presenter: Jessica (Sturgeon) Pope
Jessica is currently the Director of Capital Caring Kids, a pediatric hospice program serving approximately 90 children in the DC area with complex, life-limiting illnesses, and has been in the hospice industry as a clinician and leader for 15 years. She is a Board-Certified Music Therapist and Child Life Specialist who specializes in pediatric hospice and palliative care and is an advocate for developmentally-informed care and consent models to support children with medical complexity. She has had the pleasure of sitting on the Pediatric Advisory Council and Pediatric E-Journal for the National Alliance for Care at Home (formerly NHPCO) with participation in several national and state-based legislation initiatives to increase awareness and education on the utilization of concurrent care in pediatric hospice.
Jessica has been part of several development-based projects, inclusive of toolkit and resource creation, highlighting the importance of concurrent care utilization following the implementation of Section 2302 of the Affordable Care Act. She has a passion for creating paths for accessing care and supporting implementation and growth of pediatric hospice programming at a national level through written materials, consultative partnerships, and didactic educational experiences that highlight the importance of establishing and maintaining quality care for this precious population.
Presenter: Oralea Marquardt
Oralea Marquardt is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Qualified Supervisor with expertise in grief, loss, and pediatric palliative care. She earned her Master of Social Work from Walden University, focusing on medical social work and bereavement counseling. Her personal experience as a bereaved mother after losing her eight-year-old son to a life-limiting illness in 2014 deeply informs her professional dedication to supporting children with serious illness and helping families navigate the complexities of pediatric illness, caregiving, grief, and loss.
She currently serves as the Pediatric Clinical Manager at Treasure Coast Hospice, where she leads an interdisciplinary team dedicated to providing compassionate, family-centered care for children with serious and life-limiting illnesses. She is an active member of the Florida Pediatric Palliative Care Coalition and serves on the Pediatric Advisory Council and the Pediatric E-Journal team for the National Alliance for Care at Home. Her published work appears in the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Hospice and Palliative Medicine Section Newsletters, Courageous Parents Network, and the National Alliance for Care at Home’s Pediatric E-journal.
Objectives:
Lauren Hancock, RN, MSN, CHPPN, CPNP-AC
Brief Description:
This session will help nurses at the bedside (both in the hospital and in patients homes) recognize opportunities and openings to have critical conversations and provide practical and structured communication frameworks to approach these conversations with clarity and compassion. The session will explore ways to assess a patient and family’s readiness to participate in a conversation, and self reflection on one’s own readiness and ability to engage in difficult conversations.
Presenter:
Lauren Hancock has over 20 years of experience as a pediatric clinician and currently serves as the Advanced Practice Provider Manager for the Pediatric Service Line at Inova L.J. Murphy Children's Hospital in Northern Virginia, where she leads the team of APPs working in pediatrics across the health system and working clinically in the pediatric ICU. Her nursing career began in 2006 and spans a broad range of pediatric specialties, including bone marrow transplant, neonatal ICU, pediatric stepdown, camp nursing, pediatric ICU, primary care, pediatric hospice and palliative care, neuro-oncology, and cardiac ICU.
Lauren completed her undergraduate education at Georgetown University and her graduate nursing education at the University of Pennsylvania, where she trained as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner in Acute Care with a specialization in Pediatric Oncology and a minor in Palliative Care. She has since completed multiple extensive training programs in pediatric palliative care and is a Certified Hospice and Palliative Pediatric Nurse. She is a co-owner of Pediatric Palliative Education Consultants, providing customized pediatric palliative care education and mentorship to clinicians and teams.
Objectives:
Jacinda Hays, DO, FAAP, FAAHPM
Brief Description:
In this webinar, we will investigate the different types of advance care directives and how they differ by states. We will differentiate how DNR orders are discussed and approached in inpatient and outpatient settings. Finally, we will review communication strategies to introduce advance care planning in a way that is beneficial to both the medical team and the family/caregivers.
Presenter:
Dr. Jacinda Hays is board certified in both Pediatrics and Hospice and Palliative Medicine. She received her D.O. degree from Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2012. She completed her residency and fellowship training through Virginia Tech-Carilion School of Medicine. From 2020-2025, Dr. Hays worked on an inpatient pediatric palliative care team at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital and served as the Associate Program Director for the pediatric HPM fellowship.
She then ventured into the world of hospice and now is the Pediatric Hospice Medical Director for Chapters Kids, which has pediatric hospice teams in Virginia, Maryland, Washington D.C., Florida, and California. When she is not working, you will find her reading fantasy books, watching sports, or driving her Jeep.
Objectives:
This 3-session virtual program series on pediatric pain and symptom management featured board-certified pediatric pharmacist, Melissa Hunt, PharmD, BCPPS. In this 3-part program designed for medical professionals, clinicians and providers, Dr. Hunt addresses the most pressing issues in pediatric pain and symptom management for children and adolescents with medical complexity and those receiving palliative care and possibly end-of-life care.
Webinar Dates and Titles (April 4, April 11, April 18, 2025)
Webinar 1 - Effective and Comprehensive Approaches to Pediatric Pain Management
Webinar 2 - Beyond the Prescription: Rethinking Nausea & Vomiting in Pediatric Palliative Care
Webinar 3 - Breath, Balance and Comfort: Managing Secretions, Constipation and Dyspnea
This webinar bundle will be available for purchase in January 2026.
Learning Objectives:
This 3-session virtual program series on perinatal and neonatal care features experts Dr. Brian Clark, Dr. Christopher Collura and Dr. Robert Macauley. In this 3-part program designed for medical professionals, clinicians and providers, the presenters address the most pressing issues and ethical considerations in perinatal and neonatal care.
Webinar Dates and Titles (October 3, October 10, October 17, 2025)
Webinar 1 - Critical Ethical & Relationship Considerations in Perinatal Palliative Care - Brian Clark, MD, FAAP
Webinar 2 - Periviable Birth: Integrating Neonatology, Ethics, and Palliative Care at the Limits of Viability - Christopher Collura, MD
Webinar 3 - Prognostic Uncertainty in the Neonatal Period - Bob Macauley, MD, FAAP
This webinar bundle will be available for purchase in January 2026.
Learning Objectives:
