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Faculty

Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship

Palliative Care is integrated throughout Children’s Mercy. The Palliative Care Team (PaCT) met its first patient in May 2002. In 2021, we consulted on >300 new  pediatric patients, met >100 women in the Fetal Health Center for prenatal palliative care, and maintained longitudinal relationships with ~650 infants, children and adolescents.

The core Palliative Care Team (PaCT) includes fourHospice and Palliative Medicine fellowship-trained physicians and five certified hospice and palliative nurses.

The core team includes:

Medical Director

Jenni Linebarger, MD, MPH

Additional Faculty

John Stroh, MD 
Kelstan Ellis, DO, MS-CR, MBe
Taylor Jersak, MD

Fellow

Sam Kaplan, MD

Nurse Manager

Kate White

Nurses

Sarah Pearson
Tonja Spencer
Aly Schmidt
Jennifer Fulk

The interdisciplinary team draws upon the patient’s primary social worker, child life specialist, and chaplain.

Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship leadership team

Lori Olson, MD
Program Director
Lolson3@kumc.edu

Emily Hansen, DO
Associate Program Director
ehansen4@kumc.edu

Taylor Jersak, MD
Pediatric Site Director
thjersak@cmh.edu

Cheryl Jacobson
Fellowship Coordinator
(913) 588-0348
cjacobson@kumc.edu