TOP 100 MAGAZINE

DD Fritch

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DD Fritch, founder and president of Hearts Connected, LLC, has dedicated her life to reshaping the landscape of pediatric mental health. With over three decades as a pediatric nursing leader at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, she witnessed firsthand the transformative power of child life specialists on children and their families. Inspired by this impact, she launched Hearts Connected in 2020 to extend these vital services beyond hospital walls and into communities across the U.S. and Canada. 

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Hearts Connected is a nurse-led innovation that provides a lifeline for families navigating the emotional challenges of medical procedures, life transitions, and mental wellness. The organization specializes in therapeutic play and interventions that equip children with coping mechanisms to integrate into their daily lives, empowering them to manage their emotional well-being and minimizing the long-term effects of medical trauma or other challenges. 

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Under DD’s leadership, Hearts Connected is not just a service—it’s a movement to normalize mental wellness and break the stigma surrounding mental health. By making these resources accessible and affordable, DD is transforming how parents support their children, how kids build resilience, and how communities address mental health. 

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Driven by her passion to bring families “a resource they didn’t know they needed,” DD Fritch is changing lives—one child, one family, one conversation at a time. Hearts Connected is paving the way for healthier, more empowered futures for children everywhere. 

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DD Fritch
Founder and President
Hearts Connected, LLC
Website: https://heartsconnected.org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ddfritch/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heartsconnectedllc
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heartsconnectedllc/?hl=en