The Next Frontier: Where Innovation Meets Compassion Symposium

Location

The Institute of Reproductive Grief Care and Grossmont Healthcare District have announced a joint partnership to present The Next Frontier: Where Innovation Meets Compassion, a full-day professional symposium focused on improving how healthcare systems respond to reproductive loss.
 

The Symposium will be held on Friday, March 27, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Grossmont Healthcare District Auditorium in La Mesa, bringing together healthcare and mental health professionals, nonprofit leaders, students, and community stakeholders from across San Diego County. Continuing education hours will be available for licensed healthcare professionals.

The event addresses a significant and often underrecognized gap in care. One in four pregnancies ends in reproductive loss, and research indicates that up to 60 percent of those affected experience symptoms of anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress. Despite the prevalence of reproductive grief, many healthcare professionals receive limited training on how to respond effectively, which can unintentionally compound a patient’s trauma.

“Supporting this Symposium aligns directly with our commitment to community mental health and thoughtful, patient-centered care,” said Maggie Watkins, Vice President of the Grossmont Healthcare District Board of Directors and a member of the District’s grants committee. “Reproductive loss touches families across our region, often in moments of crisis. By investing in education and training for frontline professionals, we are helping ensure that compassion, dignity, and understanding are part of every patient encounter.”

Through expert-led panels, interactive discussions, and practical strategies, the Symposium is designed to equip participants with evidence-based tools to better support individuals and families navigating reproductive grief. Hosting the event locally increases accessibility for East County professionals and reinforces a shared commitment to advancing the standard of care in this critical area of mental health.

To further expand participation, a limited number of scholarships will be made available for Grossmont Healthcare District residents, students, and nonprofit organizations. Reach out to sara@reproductivegrief.org for scholarship inquiries.

Founded to address the emotional and clinical complexities surrounding reproductive loss, the Institute of Reproductive Grief Care focuses on educating frontline medical teams, reducing trauma, and helping patients begin a healthy healing process. The organization also conducts and promotes research to strengthen care practices nationwide. In 2024, San Diego Magazine recognized the Institute’s Founder and CEO, Michaelene Fredenburg, as “Pioneer of the Year” for her leadership in advancing awareness and support for reproductive grief.

Registration for the March 27 Symposium is now open at:
https://web.cvent.com/event/58bccaf7-ee6d-4f5c-a175-64dd3cdad55d/-1?RefId=2026%20Symposium

About Grossmont Healthcare District:

Grossmont Healthcare District’s (GHD) mission is to improve the health and wellbeing of the communities they serve through strategic investments, partnerships, and programs that expand access to quality care, promote wellness, and elevate health education and healthcare workforce training.

A public agency created in 1952, GHD’s priority projects include supporting the health and wellness of East County through oversight of the Sharp Grossmont Hospital, the operation of a public Health & Wellness Library, providing healthcare career scholarships for local students, and offering a community grants and sponsorships program. The District is governed by an elected Board of Directors who represent approximately 520,000 people residing within 750 square miles.

About the Institute of Reproductive Grief Care

One in four U.S. pregnancies end in miscarriage – and this is just one kind of reproductive loss. Busy hospital Emergency Departments are reporting an average of five pregnancy losses each day.

About 2.4 million fetal and neonatal deaths occur in the perinatal period in the U.S. – four times more than the annual number of deaths from cancer! These numbers don’t include infertility, which carries its own repeated, emotional pain.

At the Institute of Reproductive Grief Care, we educate frontline medical teams to reduce emotional trauma and set patients on a healthy healing trajectory, bringing comfort and hope during a time of great loss. We also offer healing resources directly to those touched by reproductive loss and conduct and promote research to help those who grieve.

More: https://reproductivegrief.org/