UK Pediatric Palliative Care Provider Chosen to Lead AAHPM Group

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 13, 2015) — UK Health Care pediatrician Dr. Lindsay B. Ragsdale was recently elected as chair of the Pediatric Special Interest Group for the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Care Medicine (AAHPM).

Ragsdale is the associate director of the Pediatric Advanced Care Team (PACT), which serves families of seriously ill children at Kentucky Children's Hospital (KCH). PACT focuses on improving quality of life, communicating health information to families and managing pain for patients in many sections of the hospital. In addition, Ragsdale serves as a pediatric hospitalist at KCH and assistant professor of pediatrics.

A member of the AAHPM for three years, Ragsdale assumes a leadership role in the national association as a relatively young practitioner. In this role, she hopes to facilitate the continued growth pediatric palliative care services within the medical profession.

"We are seeing a change of tide in leadership, and I feel very humbled," Ragsdale said.  "I hope our generation can help take on this task of making pediatric palliative care more available."

Ragsdale acquired her medical degree in 2006 at the University of Kentucky and afterward completed a pediatric residency at UK. She completed a fellowship at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia before returning to UK HealthCare in 2013. She is certified by the American Board of Pediatrics and also board certified in Hospice and Palliative Medicine.

MEDIA CONTACT: Elizabeth Adams, elizabethadams@uky.edu