RANGELEY – The staff of Rangeley Family Medicine is pleased to welcome Laurie Steward to the health center. Laurie originally began offering medical care at the practice in May as a temporary provider. Now she has made the decision to accept Rangeley’s medical clinician position.
Laurie recently shared her reasons for joining the practice: “I chose to stay at Rangeley Family Medicine because I love the small town feel and sense of community here. Everyone seems to care about their neighbors and always offer a helping hand to each other. The Rangeley staff are the best that I have ever had the pleasure of working with and go above and beyond for their patients.”
She continued: “I have a dual Master’s of Science as a Clinical Nurse Specialist and Family Nurse Practitioner. I am board certified through the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. I have specialized in Family Medicine and Urgent Care. My background before I became a nurse practitioner was in intensive care, trauma and transplant. I then worked with a pulmonary physicians’ group treating both pulmonary and sleep medicine issues in the roles of both RN and Nurse Practitioner. I also opened, wrote policies and procedures, and ran one of the first Coumadin clinics in Alabama for a group of 50 physicians. I have had a broad base of experience in my past and have enjoyed traveling as an NP for the last 10 years. It gave me the opportunity to experience differences in health care around the country. I believe education, prevention, and early detection of disease are the keys to health care. Living in a small town enables us to be better know and understand our patients and their needs.”
In Rangeley, Laurie will work alongside Angela Kristoff who offers behavioral health services. Over 1,400 residents of Dallas and Lincoln Plantations, Madrid, Magalloway, Rangeley, Sandy River, and other adjacent locations visit the health center each year.
###
Rangeley Family Medicine is part of HealthReach Community Health Centers, a group of eleven Federally Qualified Health Centers in Central and Western Maine. Rangeley offers a range of services including family medical care, counseling, and care management to residents of Rangeley, Oquossoc, Stratton, Phillips, Eustis, Avon and neighboring towns. Our reduced fee program is available to uninsured and underinsured residents.
A private, non-profit with a 43-year history, HealthReach is funded by patient fees, grants and by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $3,930,684 with 82.5 percent financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.