This presentation will focus on grief and loss in a pediatric emergency department and how these deaths and bereavements are often sudden and deeply traumatic. Families face intense emotional distress, while staff must balance urgent medical care with compassionate support. Navigating these moments require clear communication, empathy, and trauma-informed care to support grieving families and children and the emotional well-being of healthcare staff. Attendees will gain practical, trauma-informed tools and approaches to deliver structured bereavement support, strengthen team responses, navigate difficult conversations, and promote emotional well-being for both families and caregivers in high-acuity environments.

Continuing Education (CE) Credits: 1.5 continuing education credits pending approval.
Target Audience: Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support professionals, school professionals
Instructional Level: Intermediate – This best describes a topic or issue that the audience likely has a theoretical foundation for understanding and/or a working knowledge
Format: Live Interactive Webinar

Cost: Free for NACG Members; $60 for Guests without CEs, $75 for Guests with CEs
Registration Deadline: September 23, 2027, at 12:59pm ET.

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After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

• Identify the psychological and emotional impacts of pediatric loss on families, siblings, and healthcare staff in the pediatric emergency department environment.
• Explain effective communication techniques and supportive interventions to assist families and staff during the grieving process.
• Utilize various strategies and resources to provide compassionate bereavement support to families and promote staff resilience in the context of pediatric loss.

Speaker Bios:

Olivia L. Buzminsky, BA, MS, CTRS-C, CCLS; Olivia Buzminsky, holds a MS in Child Life, Administration, and Family Collaboration with Post-Baccalaureate Certificates in Family Professional Collaboration and Autism Studies from Towson University and a BA in Psychology from Mount Saint Mary College. She currently works as a Child Life Specialist at Inova L.J. Murphy Children’s Hospital in the Pediatric Emergency Department where she assists with procedural preparation and support, distraction, trauma, grief, and bereavement. Olivia also holds a certification in Trauma and Resilience.

Caitlyn J. Starkey, BS, MS, CCLS; Caitlyn received her bachelor’s degree in psychology followed by a master’s degree in child Life, Administration and Family Collaboration from Towson University. She completed her child life internship at Inova L.J Murphy Children’s Hospital. Caitlyn has been working at Inova L.J Murphy Children’s Hospital for over four years in the Pediatric Emergency Department. At Inova, Caitlyn enjoys being a facility dog handler, student supervisor, and a member of the Pediatric Bereavement Committee.

Continuing Education (CE) Provider Information:

Each professional is responsible for the individual requirements as stipulated by their licensing agency. Please contact your individual licensing board/regulatory agency to review continuing education requirements for licensure renewal. Please note: You must attend “live” (in real-time) to earn CEs. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the CE process, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688.

The National Alliance for Children’s Grief has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7221. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.

The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0689. Social Workers completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.

The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0238. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.

National Alliance for Children’s Grief, #1819, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers.  State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. National Alliance for Children’s Grief maintains responsibility for this course.  ACE provider approval period: 07/20/2026 – 07/20/2029. Social workers completing this course will receive 1.5 general continuing education credits.

Refund/cancellation policy: If you need to cancel your registration, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688. Please note that no refunds will be given.

To request accessibility accommodations: The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is committed to providing universal access to all our events. Please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688 to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.

System requirements: Participants must have access to a computer, tablet, or mobile device with a reliable internet connection, speakers and microphone, and a webcam for video participation. A device with at least a dual-core processor (2 GHz or higher), 4 GB of RAM, and 64-bit capability is recommended.

Attendance policy: To earn CEs for this event, you must attend the entirety of the event as demonstrated by your autogenerated login and logout time on the Zoom Webinar report and complete an online event evaluation within seven (7) days of the event. Please make sure you are signed into Zoom using the name that matches your professional license and not the name of your place of employment, as there is no way to verify your attendance after the fact if your name does not appear on the Zoom Webinar report. CE certificates will be sent out within 30 days of the educational event. The link for your certificate will come from “certificates@simplecert.net” as the National Alliance for Children’s Grief. Please be sure to add this email to your “safe sender list”. The NACG is unable to process certificates after 90 days from the date of the event. 

CE Certificate retrieval request: The NACG maintains continuing education records for at least six years from the date of completion of the educational event which include: the name and curriculum vitae of the presenter, a record of attendance, an outline of the course, date, and location of the course, and the number of hours for completion of the course. If you attended a CE educational event and need a copy of your CE certificate, please complete this form to obtain a copy: https://nacg.wufoo.com/forms/qfsln7r1twqpty/.
Please note: If the education event was more than 90 days ago, and a required evaluation was not completed, a certificate cannot be provided per the policy.

Grievance policy: Find the link to the NACG’s Continuing Education Grievance Policy HERE. Please complete THIS form to share a grievance with the NACG regarding a continuing education event.