PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY
Kaitlin Murtagh is the Outpatient Education Coordinator with The Valerie Fund’s Hematology/Oncology clinic at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Voorhees Specialty Care Network Center in Voorhees, New Jersey. She partners with an interdisciplinary team to provide the organization, planning, and delivery of educational support services to patients seen in the clinic.
Kaitlin holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in English from the College of Saint Elizabeth, teaching certificates from the state of New Jersey as a Teacher of English and a Teacher of Students with Disabilities, and will graduate with a Master of Arts in Education (MAED) degree from Michigan State University in May 2020.
Kaitlin's experience as a certified general education and special education teacher has involved working with diverse populations of students, most notably with at-risk and chronically ill youth. In addition to her experience in the classroom, she has also served as an educational coordinator and consultant who established an Intensive Academic Support Program for students returning to school from being hospitalized. In addition to her current role, Kaitlin also oversees a proactive academic support program for school-aged patients with sickle cell disease (SCD), called SCD S.T.R.O.N.G. (School Tutoring Resource Opportunity & Networking Group).
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
Throughout her career, Kaitlin has had the opportunity to share information about her work with others at a number of conferences. Most notably, she helped spearhead an interdisciplinary team within The Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and co-authored a comprehensive and user-friendly school-based handbook that contains the latest information on sickle cell disease, promotes proactive planning, and supports the development and implementation of individualized academic action plans for students with this chronic illness.
Nationwide promotion of the benefits of using the handbook, entitled Supporting the Student with Sickle Cell Disease: A Comprehensive Handbook for Your School Community, has been the focus of a number of Kaitlin's presentations over the past three years. Click on each image to learn more about the conference and the presentation Kaitlin gave.
My colleague and I are ready to share what we know during our poster presentation at the 46th Annual Sickle Cell Disease Association of America's National Convention.
This was taken during my presentation at the 47th Annual Sickle Cell Disease Association of America's National Convention.
This was taken during my presentation at the Hospital Educator and Academic Liaison (HEAL) National Conference. My presentation was about the handbook I co-authored for working with students with sickle cell disease.
My colleague and I are ready to share what we know during our poster presentation at the 46th Annual Sickle Cell Disease Association of America's National Convention.
After spending nearly a decade working in the field of education, Kaitlin understands the importance of fostering relationships between patients, their families, and schools. Kaitlin is dedicated to helping patients maintain their educational goals and remain active members of their school communities throughout their academic careers. Please contact her to learn more about how she can partner with you.
A PDF version of Kaitlin's professional biography and a list of her speaking engagements is available here.