Tressia Shaw, MD FAAP FAAHPM
Phoenix Children’s / Hospice of the Valley
AAHPM reached out to the 2024 Visionaries to gain insight into what motivated them to pursue leadership positions and what they find more fulfilling in their experiences. Tressia Shaw, MD FAAP FAAHPMhas been recognized as one of the exceptional individuals chosen as a 2024 AAHPM Visionaries in Hospice and Palliative Care.
Who has most influenced your work and how have they shaped your contributions?
The children and families I’ve cared for have been the biggest influence on my work. My early career experiences providing care for children with medically complex conditions was what motivated me to start our hospital’s palliative care program and work to create partnerships that could connect care across different settings. Experience providing clinical care in a hospital program, home hospice, and inpatient pediatric hospice unit has influenced my view of what care options can be available and created for children and their families. It has also generated the circumstances and synergy for community and hospital partnerships to further develop and connect these care options. I am grateful for all these influences and opportunities which shaped my contributions.
What is the significance to you of being recognized as a “Visionary” in Hospice and Palliative Medicine?
I am absolutely honored and humbled to be recognized as a visionary, especially given there are so many other visionaries in our field. Any contributions I have made have been possible because of the many colleagues and partnerships that supported them. To me, this recognition signifies the importance of partnerships and collaboration. Being recognized in this way certainly inspires me to do more. Additionally, since most of my work has been at the local level, I appreciate the recognition of this type of work to advance pediatric palliative care and the field in general.
What is your aspiration for the evolution of hospice and Palliative Medicine? Being in the field for almost 20 years, it has been exciting and inspirational to watch all the growth and changes. For the field, I hope we can continue to increase access to hospice and palliative care through expansion of services and education in both primary and subspecialty palliative care. As a pediatrician, my aspirations for the field would include further elevating the voice of pediatric palliative and hospice care to ensure this population’s needs are met across all care settings.
Learn more about the AAHPM 2024 Visionaries in Hospice and Palliative Care and view a full list of all current and past Visionaries.