REACH Initiative

The REACH initiative is a quality improvement project through St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. REACH stands for Regional Pediatric Education and Assistance Collaborative for Hospice Nurses. The project’s goal is to provide hospice nurses in the state of Tennessee with access to expert pediatric-specific training and support to empower them in provision of high quality, compassionate care to children and families.  Through our partnership with Project ECHO, we will deliver evidence-based knowledge, resources, peer support, and community for hospice nurses in the state of Tennessee.

Project ECHO (Extensions for Community Healthcare Outcomes) is a knowledge-sharing network that connects a multi-disciplinary team of experts (hub) with health professionals in the community (spokes) via a videoconference model. Project ECHO emphasizes an all-teach and all-learn philosophy with a multidirectional flow of knowledge to empower and support local providers.

Project ECHO and REACH partner to provide evidence-based knowledge, resources, peer support, and community for hospice nurses in the state of Tennessee.

We invite you to join the REACH community and connect with other hospice nurses while learning from experts to strengthen your pediatric palliative care and hospice skills!

The REACH Pediatric Palliative Care and Hospice ECHO program provides a convenient and easily accessible virtual environment that connects experts with community hospice nurses. This network shares evidence-based, pediatric-specific education and support to empower nurses to deliver high quality, compassionate care to children and their families.

There is no cost to register and attend sessions.

The sessions take place virtually via the Zoom platform. You will receive an email before each session that contains information about how to join. You can attend the location that is most convenient for you. Consult the curriculum calendar to learn more about upcoming sessions.

You will need a device (phone, laptop, or computer) with a webcam, microphone and stable internet connection. Email REACH@stjude.org  if you have questions.

ECHO sessions are interactive, and participants are encouraged to ask questions, submit patient cases and participate in discussions.

Sessions include:

• Welcome, announcements and introductions
• Didactic presentation given by pediatric palliative and hospice care experts
  • Didactic topics are driven by hospice nurse recommendations
  • See the curriculum calendar for a summary of topics
• Case-based discussion
  • Participants are encouraged to submit cases via the online form
  • Interactive real-time problem solving with experts
• Brief mindfulness activity

There are no attendance requirements. You will benefit if you attend as many sessions as possible, since the curriculum builds upon itself. If you are unable to join a session in real time, you can find the recordings on the website to view at your convenience.

Fill out the case discussion form on the website home page. Please remember that cases must not contain any identifying information.

We are committed to providing education, resources, and support for hospice nurses in the state of Tennessee. We also welcome interdisciplinary participants to join the conversation, including advanced practice providers, social workers, chaplains, child life specialists, psychologists, and others.