Maria Gatto, MA, MHs.B, APRN, ACHPN, APHN, FPCN

Maria Gatto, MA, MHs.B, APRN, ACHPN, APHN, FPCN, is an advanced practice nurse practitioner, board certified in Palliative Care, Holistic Care, Caring Science Theory, and a distinguished Fellow in Palliative Care Nursing. A national Palliative Care expert and consultant in the healthcare field for over 30 years, her successful quality healthcare analysis, design, and expert application of Implementation Science, IS, created approximately 100 sustainable palliative care services that meet national quality evidence-based standards that maximized return on investment.  As a corporate health system leader for multiple catholic health systems and national organizations, her standardization of practice, policy, operations, payment, education, electronic health records, and outcomes result in exceeding patient satisfaction, quality scores, deceased length of stay and readmissions, while increasing millions of dollars both in direct cost savings and revenue. Her national organizational work has been with The Center To Advance Palliative Care, CAPC, Palliative Care Quality Coalition, PCQC, The Coalition To Transform Advance Care, CTAC,  Hospice & Palliative Care Nursing Association, HPNA, American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, AAHPM, and Catholic Health Association, CHA, of the United States.  She is a national palliative care consultant, speaker, presenter, volunteer, and author. Her passions are not just work, but her faith, family, husband Marc, and daughter Isabella. Her life changing experiences are the birth of her daughter, being a mission worker, and the first nurse responder on 9/11 at Ground Zero. Palliative care is not just a profession; it is her life purpose in service to humankind.