Leading the Way Forward

ChildServe at the National Pediatric Complex Care Association Conference

It’s rare to find organizations providing the same level of complex medical care we offer at ChildServe, but once a year, similar organizations from across the country gather in one place for the Pediatric Complex Care Association (PCCA) annual conference.

The PCCA is a national organization of providers that serve children with complex medical needs. As the current PCCA Board President, I was honored to work with a great team putting together a conference filled with expert speakers and resources. This team included a few familiar faces from ChildServe: Dawn Schwartz, Director of Nursing and Palliative Care Consultant and Carrie Van Quathem, Director of Pediatric Rehabilitation, who both serve on the PCCA education committee, and Suzanne Case, Marketing Manager, who serves on the PCCA marketing committee.

Sharing Expertise and Passion

In November, nine ChildServe team members attended the conference Orlando, Florida. We were there not only to learn, but to teach. Team members presented on the following topics:

• Palliative Rehabilitation; Carrie Van Quathem, Director of Pediatric Rehabilitation
• Communication Conundrum – Navigating Conversation in Pediatric Palliative Care; Dawn Schwartz, Director of Nursing and Palliative Care Consultant
• What’s Your Story? Best Practices in Storytelling for Organizational Impact; Suzanne Case, Marketing Manager
• Rehabilitation Technology: The Future of Function; Carrie Van Quathem, Director of Pediatric Rehabilitation, and Katherine Lefert, Rehabilitation Manager
• Creative Adaptations for Children with Medical Complexity; Paige Sittner; Physical Therapist
• Be Good to Yourself: Transforming Compassion Fatigue to Compassion; Dawn Schwartz, Director of Nursing and Palliative Care Consultant
• Effective Advocacy: The Basics and Beyond; Tracey Page, Senior Vice President of Clinical Services

Along with sharing our expertise, we were eager to be students and bring all we learned from other providers back to ChildServe. Nothing helps us improve what we do more than connecting with other experts.

Taking Our Culture on the Road

At ChildServe, we invite people to take a tour to experience our unique atmosphere of innovation, care, and belief in the spirit of a child. At the PCCA conference, we took our culture on the road, and people felt it. I’m so proud of the way the ChildServe team represented what we do. Person after person came up to me throughout the conference to complement our team. One CEO asked me if we could sit down and talk, hoping to learn how we managed to have so many standout or “rock star” team members all on one team. 

Sharing our passion and mission with providers from across the country was a meaningful experience. It was incredible to see ChildServe recognized and respected on a national stage for our programs, expertise and culture. I couldn’t be more thankful to the experts at ChildServe and at PCCA who are committed to moving Forward Together to help kids with complex medical needs live a great life.