Your team is clinically skilled

But skill alone doesn't reach a dysregulated child.

Poke Pals trains clinical teams to prevent escalation before it starts — using a nervous-system–aware framework that improves first-attempt success, reduces staff stress, and protects patient dignity without slowing care.

WHO IS THIS FOR

Mobile phlebotomy providers
Solo and small practice operators who draw in homes, clinics, and schools — and need behavioral tools for their hardest pediatric cases.

Outpatient clinics
Pediatric and family practices where blood draw distress disrupts schedules, exhausts staff, and leads families to delay necessary care.

ABA Clinics and BCBA Practitioners

Speaking both languages, I know medical fear and trauma is real among children with Autism. blood draw preparation reduces session disruption and supports carryover of behavioral goals into medical settings

Diagnostics & lab innovation teams
For organizations exploring pediatric expansion who need real-world readiness insights before analytic evaluation.

THE PROBLEM

When pediatric blood draws escalate, the impact extends far beyond a single encounter:

Appointments run over due to anxiety or refusal
Staff feel unprepared for neurodivergent patients
Procedures escalate to restraint or sedation
Families delay or avoid future care
Staff burnout increases
No consistent approach for anxious or sensory-sensitive children
No visibility into “no specimen obtained” encounters

The result: lost time, lost trust, and missed care opportunities.

That gap costs time, trust, and outcomes — leading to longer appointments, staff exhaustion, and families avoiding care altogether.

The Shift

Your team doesn’t need more technical training.

They need pre-procedural readiness strategies.

That’s where Poke Pals comes in.

The Framework

CALM – EXPLAIN – INVOLVE

A practical, nervous-system–aware approach:

Calm → regulate environment and adult presence
Explain → use clear, developmentally appropriate language
Involve → give the child meaningful participation

This reduces escalation and refusals—without changing protocols or slowing workflow.

A Practical Starting Point for Your Team

Pilot: Pediatric Access Optimization Training

$499 | 2 Hours | Virtual or In-Person

A focused, low-risk training designed to:

Reduce escalation and refusals
Increase first-attempt success
Improve staff confidence and consistency
Adapt strategies to your specific setting

Designed as a simple entry point, similar to standard staff training formats.

Expanded Option: Half-Day Training

$699 | 4 Hours

Includes:

Everything in the pilot
Case-based scenarios
Team Q&A + protocol review
Implementation planning

Why This Works

Most systems measure specimen quality.
Few measure what happens when no specimen is obtained.

When access fails:

care is delayed
staff time increases
families disengage

Poke Pals strengthens readiness at the point of care—
so more encounters result in successful, first-attempt collection.

Let’s Talk

No pressure. No obligation.
Just a brief conversation to see if this approach fits your team.

Schedule a 15-Minute Exploratory Call

Testimonials

[I had the opportunity to work alongside Franchesca in a phlebotomy role and was able to observe first hand how well she works with patients of all demographics and backgrounds especially pediatric and neonatal patients and special needs patients of all ages. She is a very talented and highly skilled phlebotomist, and has a particular talent for making the otherwise unpleasant experience of blood draws a much more palatable and even positive experience for both the patient and their parents/guardians. I have had the chance to observe her work with so many patients who required special considerations to perform high quality blood draws while enhancing the patient's experience overall.

I particularly remember an encounter where a young adult patient with special needs arrived with his mother and a caretaker for routine blood work. Now this patient was non-verbal and very strong, and previously it had taken a significant amount of time (often around an hour) for myself and some of the other phlebotomists to work with him to allow us to draw his blood. However the first time Franchesca had the opportunity to work with him, she calmly worked with him at his own pace and quickly built a rapport with him and made him feel comfortable to the point where he immediately let her draw his blood. Her ability to build this rapport with her patients was one of the driving factors that made this encounter the smoothest and most efficient one this patient had ever had. His mother and his caretaker were blown away by how easy that experience was when Franchesca drew his bloodwork. There are many similar instances that come to my mind when considering how professional and effective Franchesca is at providing the highest quality of care for all her patients, but especially those young children and special needs patients who are unable to understand or are just plain scared to get their blood work done

John, UVA Medical Center

Poke Pals provides educational training, implementation support, and consultation — not medical treatment, therapy, or diagnosis.

The Invisible Denominator in Pediatric Blood Collection

Most laboratory dashboards track specimens received - — hemolysis, rejection, turnaround time.

Far fewer track encounters where no specimen is obtained due to distress, refusal, or access breakdown.

When this happens, care is delayed, staff time increases, and families may avoid future visits.

Poke Pals focuses on strengthening readiness at the point of care to reduce these breakdowns and improve first-attempt success.

If your organization is exploring pediatric expansion and requires observational access feasibility prior to performance evaluation, please visit: www.AccessBeforeAnalysis.com

Files coming soon.