“I was born and raised in Carroll County. My husband of almost 31 years and I have three grown kids, our “bonus daughter”, and precious grand babies that we adore. I was a stay-at-home mom for about 10 years. When having my babies, I had some fantastic nurses who made a huge difference in my birth experiences. When my youngest was preparing to go to school, I also returned to school to become a labor and delivery nurse. I wanted to be able to be a part of the birth experiences for others. I graduated from WCC in 2005 as an RN and was later certified in Inpatient Obstetrical Nursing.

I worked closely with Dr. Blattner and the other physicians for almost 17 years in the Women’s Health Unit at TCRH, and I loved taking care of my moms and babies as well as our GYN surgical patients. I spent much of that time teaching childbirth education and getting to really know some of our families, which meant so much to me. I loved having that connection and the ability to watch “our babies” grow.

I had always told young nurses that if I had it to do over again, I would have continued my education to become an NP. When my youngest son was preparing to leave for college, I decided to again return to school. I graduated from ODU with my BSN in 2019, and then completed my MSN from Walden University in 2021.

In January of 2022, I began practicing as a Family Nurse Practitioner in a Primary Care Setting at First Choice Healthcare, which is an experience I will always be grateful for. I learned so much from my colleagues, and I developed some wonderful relationships with my patients.

In February of 2023, the opportunity came for me to join my mentor, Dr. Blattner, in his practice. This is something that I had wanted from the beginning of my NP program. OB/GYN has always been where my heart is, and I am very grateful to be taking care of the women in our community. I feel as if I have come home, and my goal is to make our patients feel comfortable and well cared for.”