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The only constant in today’s healthcare profession is lightning-paced change. In 1980, our comprehensive medical knowledge doubled every seven years. By 2020 our medical knowledge doubled every seventy-three days. THAT IS MIND-BLOWING! At this pace, all healthcare practitioners work diligently to stay current with evidence-based medicine. And with this warp-speed transformation, the roles and responsibilities of healthcare providers are anything but static. The value of experienced, committed, well-trained experts is ever-increasing. 

 

Today I want to share more about the Nurse Practitioner (NP) role and highlight one of the excellent NPs on our team.

 

Annually, the second week of November is National Nurse Practitioner Week. The position of nurse practitioner (NP) has its origin in 1965. Since its advent, the nurse practitioner’s value to healthcare has increased exponentially. While their scope of practice differs from state to state, you’ll find NPs in private practice, emergency care clinics, hospitals, and long-term care facilities. 

 

NPs are essential on the front lines of patient care. These professionals spend extensive time with patients and their families during their training and practice. They are thus attuned to notice a change in the patient’s condition requiring quick action concurrently with members of the patient’s care team. Likewise, in non-emergency circumstances, NPs serve as patient advocates, understanding and championing their patients’ needs.

 

Within the St. Luke’s network, nurse practitioners fill an increasingly critical role in several areas, including St. Luke’s Cancer and Infusion Center, St. Luke’s Pain Center, Foothills Medical Associates, and Saluda Family Practice.

 

SALUDA FAMILY MEDICINE

 

Lisa Reece, MSN, FNP, has recently joined Saluda Family Medicine as the practice’s family nurse practitioner. Lisa provides primary care to patients ages 12 and above across the healthcare spectrum in the Saluda practice in collaboration with supervising physician Dr. Jeffrey Viar. Her responsibilities include:

 

• diagnosing and treating patients
• prescribing medications 
• ordering, interpreting, and discussing results of diagnostic tests with her patients
• developing patient care plans
• educating patients on disease prevention

 

Lisa’s love for medicine began as a teenager when she volunteered as an EMT at her local Community EMS station. She earned her BSN at the University of Scranton, graduated with her MSN from LaSalle University, and is a family nurse practitioner. Before moving to Polk County, she worked as a family nurse practitioner for the University of Pennsylvania in southern Chester County, Pennsylvania. She also has more than 15 years of ER/trauma nursing experience.

 

Lisa is married to Keith, and they have four girls together. Keith grew up in Brevard and has always wanted to return to the mountains of western North Carolina. In her free time, Lisa enjoys spending time with her family and their two dogs, Tybee and Hudson, hiking and yoga.

 

To learn more about Lisa Reece and Saluda Family Medicine, visit StLukesNC.org/Saluda. If you would like to schedule an appointment with Lisa, please call (828) 749-0149.

 

If you have a healthcare topic of interest or a question, send me a note at Michelle.Fortune@slhnc.org. Also, please follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, or visit StLukesNC.org to learn about top-rated St. Luke’s Hospital and our new world-class services.