Maria Olivere is the parent of a teenage daughter with special needs and multiple complex medical conditions. Her daughter was seen at the A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children in utero at 28 weeks for an abnormality of her heart and lung that was detected by an ultrasound examination. Ms. Olivere then spent 3+ weeks at Christiana Hospital waiting for Franki to be born via a C-section. Franki was born with many medical issues and spent a total of 1.5 years of her first three years of life in the A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children (now the Nemours Children’s Health Hospital, Delaware). Franki, who is now 14 years old, would go on to have over 23 surgeries. Ms. Olivere brings a unique parent perspective to the GACEC with the many medical hurdles her family has had to navigate both within and outside the educational system. She currently serves on the Delaware Down Syndrome Society, the Family Advisory Council of the Nemours Children’s Health Hospital, Delaware, the State of Delaware’s Children with Medical Complexity Advisory Committee, the State of Delaware’s Durable Medical Equipment Work Group, and the State of Delaware’s Skilled Home Health Nursing Work Group. Previously, Ms. Olivere was President of the PTA for the Bush Early Education Center and served on the Board of Delaware Family Voices. For over 33 years she also has been working in the healthcare field, and when she is not advocating for Franki and her friends (which is always) she runs Anesthesia Affiliates, LLC, a private anesthesia staffing company. Ms. Olivere serves on the GACEC in the role of parent of a child with disabilities.

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