2026 Annual Meeting Agenda

7:30am - 8:00am
Breakfast & Welcome

8:00am - 9:15am: Session I – Keynote Speaker & APGNN Year in Review

8:00am - 9:00am
Caring for Children in a Changing Climate: Dr. Beth Karlin - See Change Institute

Objectives:

• Describe the ways climate change affects children's physical and mental health, including impacts from extreme heat, poor air quality, infectious disease, severe weather, and climate-related stress.
• Explain why children are uniquely vulnerable to climate-related health risks and how these risks disproportionately affect some families and communities.
• Recognize the role healthcare professionals can play in supporting climate resilience through patient education, mental health support, emergency preparedness, and trusted communication.
• Identify practical opportunities to help children and families prepare for and adapt to the health impacts of a changing climate.

9:00am - 9:15am
APGNN Year in Review: Whitney Gray, CRNP, MS, RN, FNP-C - APGNN President

9:15am - 9:30am
Coffee with Committee Chairs & Break

9:30am - 12:00pm: Session II - Disorder of Gut/Brain Interaction (DGBI)

9:30am - 10:00am
Triaging in DGBI the Nurse and Providers Role: Annie Dare, BSN-RN – Children’s Wisconsin

Objectives:

• Discuss how to triage symptoms of DGBI vs an acute pathology
• Review how to efficiently evaluate current symptoms to guide next steps in plan of care
• Evaluate current mental health status and discern any worsening negative impacts on daily function
• Provide education for families to help support patient and family unit as they work through symptoms

10:00am - 10:30am
Hot off the Press - Rome 5 Updates: Rachael Rosen, MD - Boston Children’s Hospital

Objectives: TBD

10:30am - 11:00am
Landing the plane in the DGBI journey: Jessica Buzenski PhD, ABPP – Emory University School of Medicine

Objectives:

• Describe what a DGBI is, and what it isn't in patient friendly terms
• Identify helpful phrases and examples to improve patient understanding and engagement
• Note benefits to increasing collaboration with other providers treating DGBI and your patients in particular

11:00am - 11:30am
Ins and Outs of Pharmacologic Treatment for Disorders of Gut Brain Interaction: Julie Banda, DNP, APRN, CPNP - Children’s Wisconsin

Objectives:

• Discuss indications, efficacy, and safety of pharmacologic neuromodulators in pediatric gastroenterology
• Describe mechanisms of neuromodulation therapies, including central and peripheral approaches that target neural signaling in the GI tract
• Describe the clinician's approach to joint medical decision making, patient education and monitoring with the use of pharmacologic treatments for pediatric disorders of gut-brain interaction

11:30am - 12:00pm
Practical Strategies for Non-Pharmacological Management of DGBI: Robin Shannon, MA, APRN, CNP - University of Minnesota Children’s Hospital

Objectives:

• Discuss the importance of communication and therapeutic relationships in the management of DGBI.
• Understand the role of patient education in the treatment of DGBI
• Describe evidence based non-pharmacological treatments

12:00pm - 1:30pm
Lunch and Poster Session

1:30pm - 3:00pm: Session III - EoE & Allergic Conditions

1:30pm - 2:00pm
When Eosinophils Go South: Updates in Non-EoE Eosinophilic GI Diseases in Children: Diana Montoya, MD - Nemours Children's Health

Objectives:

• Recognize the clinical presentations of Non-EoE EGID’s in pediatric patients and identify key features that distinguish them from more common GI conditions.
• Apply the joint ESPGHAN/NASPGHAN diagnostic framework for childhood non-EoE EGID’s, including site-specific histologic thresholds and the systematic exclusion of secondary causes of GI eosinophilia.
• Summarize current treatment strategies for pediatric non-EoE EGIDs and discuss the emerging evidence for the use of biologics.
• Describe the natural history of non-EoE EGIDs in children and identify current gaps in monitoring and long-term management that affect clinical follow-up planning.

2:00pm - 2:30pm
Nutrition Strategies in EoE: What’s In, What’s Out? : Kelsie Mathews, MS, RDN, LD, CNSC - Children’s Health

Objectives:

• Describe the different approaches to dietary elimination for management of EoE including the step-up and step-down approaches
• Highlight common nutritional gaps amongst patients on food eliminations
• Identify meaningful intervention strategies that promote nutrient inclusion and variety

2:30pm - 3:00pm
Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE): Updates on Medical Management and Long-Term Safety Considerations: Andrew Dickerson, MD - UC San Diego/Rady’s Children’s Hospital

Objectives:

• Review recommended treatment guidelines for medication management with PPIs, Topical Steroids, and Dupilumab.
• Identify known and unknown long-term risks of medication management
• Describe the process of shared decision making: choosing the correct treatment for each patient
• Discuss the decision to escalate or de-escalate therapy
• Discuss what the future holds: dual therapy, new biologics, and small molecules.

3:00pm - 3:30pm
APGNN Awards & Presentations (with snacks provided by APGNN)

• Patient and Professional Education Award
• Poster of Distinction
• Susan Moyer Research Grant (Announcing current year’s winner)

3:30pm - 5:30pm: Session IV - Hot Topics

3:30pm - 4:00pm
Beyond Picky Eating: ARFID and Pediatric Feeding Disorder in Clinical Practice: Michelle Roach, MSN, APRN, CPNP-PC - Children’s Mercy Hospital

Objectives:

• Differentiate ARFID and Pediatric Feeding Disorder.
• Obtain and interpret a detailed feeding history.
• Identify early indicators of feeding difficulties, including faltering growth, failure to progress with age-appropriate feeding, extreme selectivity, and suspected oral-motor dysfunction/dysphagia.
• Identify red flags and identify when to initiate referral.

4:00pm - 4:30pm
Building Career Capital: Creating Influence, Opportunity, and Impact: Sandy Kim, MD - Cleveland Clinic Children’s & Amy Donegan, APRN - Nationwide Children’s Hospital

Objectives:

• Understand the role of mentors, allies, and sponsors in building career capital and advancing professional goals.
• Recognize and evaluate opportunities for professional growth and development.
• Apply practical strategies to proactively create and pursue career opportunities.

4:30pm - 5:30pm
AI in Gastroenterology: Essential Partner or Dangerous Distraction: John Rosen, MD - Arkansas Children’s & Kevin Watson, MD - Akron Children’s

Objectives:

• Describe current and emerging applications of artificial intelligence across pediatric gastroenterology.
• Compare the potential clinical benefits and limitations of AI for patient care, education, and research.
• Evaluate when AI can be appropriately integrated into pediatric GI practice while recognizing situations requiring additional oversight or caution.

6:00pm
APGNN Social Event

8:00am - 8:30am
Breakfast & Welcome

8:30am - 10:00am: Session V - Pancreas

8:30am - 9:00am
Beyond the Lipase: Kayla Deatley, MSN, APRN, FNP-C - Cincinnati Children’s Hospital

Objectives:

• Define acute, acute recurrent, and chronic pancreatitis
• Discuss etiologies of pancreatitis
• Review the diagnostic work-up
• Describe medical management strategies
• Evaluate endoscopic and surgical management (TPIAT)

9:00am - 9:30am
Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency beyond CF: Nishant Patel, MD - Arnold Palmer

Objectives:

• Differentiate Non-CF Etiologies
• Evade Diagnostic Pitfalls
• Master Safe PERT Dosing
• Counsel on Infant Administration

9:30am - 10:00am
Closing the Gap in CF Nutrition: A QI Approach Using Remote Weight Monitoring: Meghana Sathe, MD - UTSW, Prigi Varghese, CPNP-PC - Children’s Health, & Jessica Jones, MS, RDN, LD, CNSC - Children’s Health

Objectives:

• Describe gastrointestinal manifestations of cystic fibrosis that contribute to malnutrition and poor growth outcomes.
• Understand core quality improvement (QI) methodology
• Apply remote monitoring as a QI intervention to improve nutritional outcomes

10:00am - 10:30am
Break

10:30am - 12:00pm: Session VI - GI Potpourri

10:30am - 11:00am
The Overlooked Vital Sign: Sleep in Pediatric Gastrointestinal Care: Bonney Reed, PhD - Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta & Emory University School of Medicine

Objectives:

• Describe the prevalence and common types of sleep problems experienced by children with pediatric gastrointestinal disorders, particularly disorders of gut-brain interaction (DGBIs).
• Explain the bidirectional relationship between sleep, gastrointestinal symptoms, pain, mood, and daily functioning in pediatric patients.
• Incorporate evidence-based sleep screening, education, and referral strategies into routine pediatric GI nursing care.

11:00am - 11:30am
All you need to know for the care of Enteral Tubes: Kathleen Carr, DNP - Boston Children’s

Objectives: TBD

11:30am - 12:00pm
Little patients, Big Clues: A practical approach to the workup for VEOIBD: Edwin F. de Zoeten, MD, PhD - Children’s Hospital of Colorado

Objectives:

• Be able to define VEO-IBD and why it is different than older onset IBD
• Recognize clinical features that suggest VEOIBD
• Perform appropriate initial diagnostic evaluation
• Understand indications for genetic and immunologic testing and multidisciplinary referral

12:00pm - 2:00pm
Lunch and Poster Session

2:00pm - 6:00pm: NASPGHAN Concurrent Sessions