Bec is the Acting Nursing Service Director of the State wide Paediatric Palliative Care Service at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital in South Australia.  She has a Graduate Diploma in Palliative Care, Graduate Certificate in Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing and Diploma of Leadership & Management.

Prior to working in palliative care, Bec was a neonatal intensive care nurse for 10 years.  Early in her neonatal nursing career, she recognised a gap in service provision for families experiencing the loss of a baby in the neonatal intensive care unit.  She led and developed many projects focused on improving the services for families facing the loss of a baby and support for the health care professionals.  This included the implementation and evaluation of a validated pain assessment tool, the evaluation of neonatal nurse’s experience in providing palliative care in the NICU and the development of a dedicated family / palliative care space within the nursery.  She worked collaboratively with consumers in response to a recognised need.

Bec has co-authored a chapter in a neonatal intensive care textbook  focused on palliative care and contributed to research looking at the experiences of families receiving palliative care in the NICU.  She is leading the development of a state wide perinatal palliative care pathway for families diagnosed with a life limiting condition during pregnancy; a collaboration between Paediatric Palliative Care, Obstetrics / Maternal Fetal Medicine & Neonatology.

Bec is a strong advocate for ensuring all neonates, children, adolescents and young adults living with a life limiting condition and their families receive fair and equitable care and support.