Danielle Eaves Hernandez is a Certified Child Life Specialist, Therapeutic Recreation Specialist and certified in Public Health in Jacksonville, Florida. Danielle has worked at Community Hospice & Palliative Care since her graduation from University of Florida in 2008. Over the last decade, she has grown a one-person child life program into three full-time child life positions to best support children impacted by life-limiting illness.

Danielle began her work with pediatric hospice and palliative patients in the community-based setting, providing support to patients and siblings in their homes, schools, and clinics.

She then began a child life program to support children and grandchildren of dying adult patients to address anticipatory grief, memory making, and optimal quality of life. Danielle was president of the Florida Association of Child Life Professionals in 2015 and has served with the American Red Cross and Children’s Disaster Services to support children affected by Hurricane Florence.

Danielle has presented at conferences for the Child Life Council, Pediatric Bioethics, The Florida Association of Child Life Professionals, PainWeek, at the National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization, at the University of Florida and Sichuan University in China. She has published in the Children’s Project on Palliative and Hospice Services.

Danielle received her Master in Public Health from University of North Florida in 2017. Her mission is to raise awareness of the role child life specialists serve in palliative and hospice care both as an integral member of the interdisciplinary palliative team as well as the importance of the child life specialty profession outside the hospital walls. She is excited to be the Child Life Disaster Relief local program manager for Northeast Florida.