Down Syndrome Healthcare

Gretchen Dodgion’s Down Syndrome Healthcare Consulting helps healthcare professionals strengthen the care they provide to people with Down syndrome and their families. Founded by Gretchen Dodgion, an RN, MS, APNP, Nurse Practitioner, university-level educator, advocate, and mother, the practice draws on professional expertise and personal experience navigating healthcare for her child.

Its primary service is evidence-based training and workshops for medical and nursing students, faculty, educators, physicians, nurses, and allied health professionals. Sessions address common medical conditions and their clinical presentations, sensitive social-emotional care, communication styles, patient autonomy, family involvement in decision-making, and the effects of ableism and systemic attitudes on healthcare. The training is designed to address gaps in professional education and help providers recognize concerns and deliver more informed, inclusive care.

Gretchen also founded and facilitates a support group for women across the Midwest who receive a prenatal or birth diagnosis of Down syndrome, offering a welcoming space to connect through shared experiences. The practice invites healthcare teams and organizations to get in touch about training.