B arbara is a Board Certified Gerontological Nurse Practitioner. She began her career in health care by working in the laboratory of a small community hospital in Decatur, Alabama, when she was only 15 years old. Since that time, she has logged nearly forty years of experience in various areas of patient care (X-ray technician, lab technician, medical assistant, critical care nurse, and nurse practitioner).

In addition to her extensive clinical experience, Barbara also has an outstanding academic background that includes two bachelor’s degrees (a BS in psychology and a BSN in nursing) and a Master of Science in Nursing from the Gerontological Nurse Practitioner Program of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

For many years, Barbara observed how many health care professionals often overlook patients’ spirituality and the role it may play in their health care. In order to feel better equipped to address these needs in her work with patients, Barbara completed a second Master’s degree in Spiritual and Pastoral Care at Loyola College in Maryland in 2005.

Barbara’s combination of clinical education and experience and her degree in Spiritual and Pastoral Care provide a strong academic foundation for the kind of holistic approach to patients that Barbara feels is critical to good patient care – holistic care that considers not only the physical aspects of a patient’s illness, but the emotional and spiritual aspects as well. She believes that healing and wholeness are matters of body, mind, and spirit.

Lauren Wierwille, MS, FNP-C
Family Nurse Practitioner

Lauren is a Family Nurse Practitioner, board-certified by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, and licensed by the state of Maryland to provide family-centered health care to patients of all ages. Her scope of practice encompasses diagnosis and management of common and complex health care problems, prenatal and well-woman care, employment and sports physical examinations, and evaluation of the well-child from birth through adolescence.

Lauren’s academic background includes a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Toledo in Ohio and a Master of Science from the Family Nurse Practitioner program at the University of Maryland in Baltimore. She has also received formal education in exercise science and rehabilitation from the University of Toledo and is currently a doctoral resident in the Doctor of Nursing Practice program at the University of Maryland.

In the beginning of her health care training, Lauren completed an internship in sports medicine and physical therapy during high school in Temperance, Michigan. She has worked with children and adolescents as both an instructor and an athletic coach for many years and has always been passionate about health promotion and disease prevention. During her undergraduate studies, Lauren worked as a nursing assistant at the University of Toledo Medical Center where she gained a wide variety of experience in the neurological, cardiac intensive care, orthopedic, and surgical units. Additionally, Lauren has experience in the educational field where she works as a graduate teaching assistant in the nursing informatics department at the University of Maryland.

In striving to provide the best health care possible, Lauren believes in acquiring a comprehensive evaluation of every patient by taking time to listen and understand their particular needs. Her true desire is to cultivate a professional environment where each patient feels comfortable, receives focused attention, and is given competent care.