HealthLinks Upstate March/April 2019

48 | www.UpstatePhysiciansSC.com | www.HealthLinksUpstate.com RUTH BOINEAU, RN, CSN It started at a young age for BrightStar Care Director of Nursing Ruth Boineau. In grade school, she helped in the nurse’s office and volunteered at the hospital as a teen. She actually entered LPN nursing school in the 11th grade. “From that first day in nursing school, I knew this was the career I was born to be in,” she said. The rest is history. She received her RN after training at Albany Medical Center in New York. “I began my career as an RN in the emergency room and gained acute care experience. Since then I have worked in school nursing, home health, hospice and private duty as a pediatric specialty nurse,” she explained. Now, as the director of nursing for BrightStar, which specializes in home health, Boineau said, “I have the great fortune to be able to lead nurses and caregivers in the growing world of home health. The benefits to our clients include health education, medication manage- ment, reduced travel and cost to the client and family. Many of our clients are able to remain in their own home for years with our assis- tance. As a case manager, I assist clients in navigating the ever-chang- ing world of health care,” she concluded. PAMELA MILLS, FNP-BC For Pamela Mills, family nurse practitioner with Integrative Health Associates, nursing found her – not the other way around. She was working as a part-time waitress when her friend asked her to help care for her ailing mother. “My friend’s mom was a type 2 diabetic and wheelchair bound,” Mills explained. “Not having any medical training at all, I was over- whelmed but in a good way. I found my passion. Before her passing, she asked me to go back to school and become a nurse.” Mills obtained an associates in nursing in 2007 from Greenville Tech- nical College. Her first job in nursing was in the emergency room. “I loved the excitement and never knowing what I would face in my shift,” she said. In 2009, she graduated with a BSN from USC Upstate. Her long- term goal was to obtain her nurse practitioner degree in 10 years. She reached her goal early when she graduated from South University as an official nurse practitioner in 2016. “I specialize in pain management without use of narcotics,” she said. “It is the best feeling to see a patient come into my office using a walker and by the end of treatment walking without the use of a walker and pain free.” ALEXANDRA CARLTON, FNP Alexandra Carlton, a nurse practitioner in family medicine, said she was inspired to further her career in health care after a medical volunteer trip she took to Tan- zania. “After that trip, I decided I wanted to become a nurse practitioner right away, and I went straight through undergrad to grad school,” she said. She wanted to become a nurse because she wanted to serve people less fortunate than herself. She hopes to one day return to Tanzania or another developing country to help with the health care and medical services needed there. “I would definitely recommend traveling overseas and partici- pating in any medical outreach and volunteer work,” she advised. “To experience another culture and see the difference between their health care versus our own really helps broaden perspective and compassion. My time overseas helped me re-center my focus on serving others, bringing glory to God, who is over all cultures and their health.” T H E P U L S E O N UPSTATE NURSES HealthLinks Upstate wants to recognize nurses as the backbone of our medical community and thank them for all their efforts! DIANE GEER, MSN, RN Diane Geer, nursing instructor at Green- ville Technical College, said that she was actually working in another aspect of the health field – surgical technology – when she realized that nursing was for her. “While I found working as a surgical tech extremely rewarding, I discovered I was craving more direct patient care and interaction with both the patient and their families,” she said. She went on to further her education at Western Governors Uni- versity. “I have worked in a variety of health care areas, from gastroin- testinal diagnostics to open heart surgery and stem cell apheresis, but it wasn’t until I began working in the pediatric ICU that I really found my passion — teaching,” she explained. “I absolutely loved teaching my patients and their families about procedures, disease processes and what to expect during their stay on a level that made them feel comfortable.” As a result of this love for teaching, Geer pursued her master’s degree in nursing education and currently works full-time as nurs- ing instructor at Greenville Technical College. “I still work as needed in the PICU but spend most of my time teaching aspiring nurses how to heal compassionately and holisti- cally, the result of which leaves me feeling overwhelmingly reward- ed and fulfilled,” she said.