Meet ShellyAnn Hope

Originally from Connecticut, ShellyAnn Hope moved to the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area in 2015 when an opportunity presented itself to join Children’s National in 2016. She was hired as a nursing acting director and after serving for five years, she was asked to help further expand the Nurse Navigator program.

The Nurse Navigator program has been in existence for the last 12 years and was first introduced by Children's National Former President and CEO Kurt Newman, MD, after an encounter with a friend who shared their experience of working with a nurse navigator following a cancer diagnosis. The late Eileen Walters, nurse navigator for the Autism Behavioral Consult (ABC) program, was the first navigator to work alongside Dr. Newman to create the program that we use today. Her legacy will be remembered for years to come. The primary responsibility of this program is to streamline communications and to provide additional support to families with children who are treated as inpatients or outpatients at Children’s National.

Nurse navigators receive referrals from all members of the healthcare team (e.g., medical team, social work and case management). Their main responsibility is to make sure that families understand all medical information that is being given to them at any point in time.

Last year, the Nurse Navigator team supported 573 families and this year they are on track to surpass 700 patients. Looking ahead, the Nurse Navigator team looks forward to continuing to grow in numbers and be able to have dedicated nurse navigators for various specialties. One example of such is the most recent addition to behavioral health. To date, Children’s National has eight nurse navigators, four including ShellyAnn who work directly with the Central Staffing office, two in Global Services, one in both Cardiology and Radiation Oncology. 

The Nurse Navigator team finds joy in helping families overcome fears of the unknown for the families they support. 

“We see families in a different light what others may see,” said ShellyAnn. “It’s a great feeling when you see families express a sigh of relief from the support we are able to provide.” 

Thank you to ShellyAnn for your leadership and the Nurse Navigator team for your commitment to serve our families in need of support, with integrity.