Transforming the Hospital-to-Home Journey: Strengthening Supports for NICU Caregivers and their Infants Post-Discharge – November 3
November 3, 2025
9 – 10:30am Pacific Time (Seattle) / 12 – 1:30pm Eastern
via Zoom
BARNARD CENTER FREE LECTURE SERIES
Caregivers of NICU infants are at significantly higher risk of perinatal mental health challenges which can impact early relational health and infant development, particularly feeding – a complex, relationship-based process that can become a source of immense stress for families. Every family who leaves the NICU should have the support they need. Yet current post-discharge systems of care are fragmented and inequitable. Northwest Center’s Hospital-to-Home care model works to change this by integrating siloed services, reducing points of contact for families, and ensuring universal screening for resource and mental health needs alongside infant developmental and feeding therapy. This session will highlight both the need for this support and our ongoing efforts to create more equitable, coordinated NICU-to-home transitions that optimize outcomes for infants and their families.
Sara Circelli, MA, IMH-E, PMH-C
Sara Circelli, MA, IMH-E, PMH-C, is the Hospital-to-Home Systems Change Manager at Northwest Center (NWC), where she has also served as an Early Intervention Family Resources Coordinator for nearly a decade. She helped develop NWC’s Hospital-to-Home team to address the “service cliff” families face after NICU discharge, ensuring a supported transition home. Sara has led statewide trainings to build provider capacity and embed perinatal mental health supports within Early Support for Infant and Toddlers (ESIT). She is trained in Promoting First Relationships and holds certifications in Compassionate Bereavement Care and Group Peer Support, facilitating groups for Postpartum Support International and beyond. Drawing on both professional and lived experience, Sara is dedicated to supporting caregiver emotional well-being alongside infant development.
Sara and Tiffany were selected to the Innovation Fellowship at the Thrive Center with Georgetown University, where they are receiving mentorship and coaching to elevate the Hospital-to-Home care model and ensure all families leaving the NICU have the support they need.
Tiffany Elliott, MS, CCC-SLP, CNT, IBCLC, NTMTC
Tiffany Elliott is a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) and International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) with 15 years experience, specializing in pediatric feeding and swallowing disorders with a strong focus on preterm and medically complex infants and strengthening the caregiver-infant dyad. Tiffany is the Hospital-to-Home systems change specialist at Northwest Center, bringing her deep clinical experience of healthcare systems and the impact of pediatric feeding disorder on early relational health. Additionally, she provides direct clinical care on the infant team at Seattle Children’s Hospital and recently opened her own training and mentorship business called Feeding Connections, PLLC.