Concord Health Center Archives - NCHC: Northern Counties Health Care

(L-R) Carol Parks, Rebecca Bedor, Sonia Rosenfield, and Crystal Bezanson show their certificates of achievement for completing the NCHC Medical Assistant Program. Savannah Nelson also completed the program.

Northern Counties Health Care (NCHC) recently celebrated five team members who have successfully completed the first offering of the NCHC Medical Assistant Program. Savannah Nelson from Concord Health Center, Rebecca Bedor and Carol Parks from Hardwick Area Health Center, and Crystal Bezanson and Sonia Rosenfield from Northern Express Care – St. Johnsbury all took part in the year long program.

The NCHC Medical Assistant (MA) Program is a career pathway funded by the organization for team members to advance in their training and education. The program is offered to current employees and new employees who have an interest in entering or furthering their work in the medical field.

While in the MA program, the students work for and are paid by Northern Counties. They take courses through the Community College of Vermont, meet weekly as a group, and receive on the job education by working with experienced MA and nurse preceptors. There is an extensive list of clinical skills that require demonstrated proficiency to successfully complete the program and to maintain their role as a Medical Assistant.

“Medical Assistants play a vital role in our primary care practices,” said Dan Sherman, Northern Counties’ Director of Primary Care. “As an integral member of the healthcare team, medical assistants work alongside nurses and providers to perform many standard care procedures like taking patient vital signs, drawing blood, and collecting lab specimens.”

NCHC’s CEO Michael Costa state, “At Northern Counties we are committed to supporting our team members to learn and grow in their fields. We do that through programs like this one, and by providing tuition assistance and dedicated funds for continued professional development.”

Costa continued, “We are proud of Carol, Crystal, Rebecca, Savannah, and Sonia for their hard work throughout the MA Program. The knowledge and growth they gained through the past year will certainly help them to make a difference on their teams and in their patients’ lives. Congratulations to them all on their accomplishment!”

NCHC held a small celebration which included remarks by the CEO and the students’ supervisors. Each of the MAs received a certificate of achievement recognizing their work and successful completion of the program.

Northern Counties Health Care is pleased to welcome Gianna Menapace-Drew, MSN, FNP-BC to the Concord Health Center.

Gianna Menapace-Drew was born and raised in North Carolina but has lived in New England for most of her life. After college, she worked as a high school Biology teacher, a lab technologist, and a genetic counselor before deciding to pursue a nursing career. She obtained a second bachelor’s degree in Nursing from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1996, and an MSN from Simmons College in 2018. Her nursing experience includes school and adolescent health, infertility, and reproductive and sexual health. She looks forward to collaborating with her patients to help them lead their healthiest lives. She recently moved from the Boston area to Northern New Hampshire with her husband and two nearly grown children. A former competitive rower and avid bicycle tourist, she now enjoys yoga, running, hiking, biking, and Nordic skiing, as well as reading, cooking, and baking pies.

“We are excited to welcome Gianna to the Concord Health Center team,” said Christopher Towne, NCHC’s Director of FQHC Operations. “Gianna’s holistic and community focused approach to patient care supports Northern Counties Health Care’s mission of providing high-quality, accessible, patient-centered healthcare.”

Gianna Menapace-Drew