Community Health Centers of Burlington (CHCB) is home to over 320 staff members, across eight different locations, serving 30,000 patients annually. The mission of CHCB is to improve the health of all those who live in the communities we serve, and, as with most things, it is all in the delivery. This series is produced by former CHCB nurse and current Board member Beth Reilly, to chronicle the many different people who make up the fabric of CHCB, and stitch together the variety of paths, passions, and experiences of those who rise to the occasion, each day, to provide outstanding health care for our community.

Anna Lisa Reynolds started working at CHCB over five years ago, initially as a staff nurse before quickly taking on a leadership role as a Nurse Educator. In addition to her work as an Educator, she also helped develop and implement the Be You Clinic to deliver gender-affirming care for patients in the LGBTQ+ community. For the past two years, Anna Lisa has worked at the Safe Harbor Health Center as the Clinical Care Coordinator for the Homeless Healthcare Program (HHP), “a small clinic, with consistent staff, exclusively serving homeless or recently housed patients, providing wrap-around services with a lot of continuity.” Anna Lisa describes removing the stigma associated with homelessness as a key part of her work. “My patients are just regular people, and the staff at Safe Harbor aim to provide them a safe place for medical and behavioral health care.”

One aspect that makes her role unique is her investment into understanding the nuances of this particular population of patients, and finding ways to meet her patients where they are at on a daily basis. Also, one common misconception is that the Safe Harbor location is the only place to provide care to homeless patients, which is untrue. Any eligible patient is able to benefit from the Homeless Healthcare Program from any of the CHCB sites, not just Safe Harbor. The social determinants of health, and in particular in relationship with homelessness, can be identified and managed at all CHCB locations.

Having grown up in Vermont, Anna Lisa still has family here and feels extremely connected to the landscape and values most Vermonter’s share. Outside of work, Anna Lisa loves to adventure locally (biking, skiing, and hiking) and explore the world outside of Vermont as well.  Having traveled  extensively, she actually spent a ‘gap’ year in Germany the year after she graduated from high school, as well as worked on a farm in Rupert, VT. When she is not working or adventuring, you might find her taking care of her many chickens or tending to her vegetable garden in Winooski.

When asked ‘What keeps you working at CHCB?’ Anna Lisa is quick to answer, “The people. I have great coworkers, who are not only supportive, they are all pieces of a bigger picture that create real differences in our patients’ lives.” Whether it is providing direct medical care and outreach services in the community, or identifying barriers to health and wellness and creating ways to remove those barriers, Anna Lisa is there, alongside her patients, listening, supporting, and providing “a little safe harbor” for all who need it.

We’re so excited to share the news of our newly-purchased outreach van which will expand access to services provided through our Homeless Healthcare Program! Having a dedicated outreach vehicle has been an organizational dream for over a decade, now realized thanks to federal funding in support of expanded coronavirus testing.

CHCB’s Medical Director of Quality, Risk and Compliance, Kerry Goulette, PA-C, MHP, was recently interviewed by WCAX, WPTZ, ABC22 and VPR. You can also read more about it via VT Digger and the Journal of Emergency Medical Services as well.

Please join us in welcoming Maria Spadanuda, PMHNP to the CHCB Psychiatry Team, and Rachel Ivancie, CNM, WH-NP, MPH to our OB Team! We are also excited to welcome back Shelly Paquette, FNP, a former CHCB Registered Nurse who recently returned to us as a Primary Care Provider!

Maria will be working at both our Riverside Health Center and GoodHEALTH Internal Medicine locations. Maria received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing followed by certification as a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner from Indiana/Purdue University. She has a strong interest in public health. Her first position after graduation was providing mobile pre-natal care to under-served populations in Indianapolis and within a high-risk labor and delivery unit at the county hospital. After many years of practice in Women’s Health, she completed her Master of Science in Nursing at the University of Vermont in 2009 and became board certified as a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. She continues to study integrative modalities that positively impact mental health, and completed a yoga teacher training for health professionals in 2018. During time off, she is outdoors as much as possible, engrossed in yoga practice, reading, cooking, and creating mosaic art.

Rachel will be working out of our Riverside Health Center. Prior to becoming a Midwife and Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner, she worked in public health research and policy both in Denver, CO and abroad in Guyana. Rachel then attended Yale University where she studied advance practice nursing and midwifery in New Haven, CT. She is passionate about maternal and child health, catching babies, and working with patients of all ages on their sexual and reproductive health needs and journeys. In her free time she enjoys cooking and loves to be in the outdoors running, fly fishing, and skiing.

Shelly will be working out of the Riverside Health Center. She is a native Vermonter who is thrilled to be back at CHCB after seven years working, adventuring and getting her Doctor of Nursing Practice in the Pacific Northwest. She obtained her BSN at the University of Scranton in 2007 and first worked for CHCB as a Registered Nurse at the Safe Harbor Health Center. Shelly spent eight months working in Haiti prior to obtaining her Doctor of Nursing Practice at the University of Portland, Oregon in 2017, and completed a Nurse Practitioner Residency program through Yakima Valley Farm Workers in 2018. Shelly has a passion for public health and her experiences working in communicable diseases, homeless health care, and with the refugee and immigrant populations in both Vermont and Oregon provided a unique framework for caring for people of all backgrounds and interests. She believes that the therapeutic relationship between provider and patient is special and the foundation for primary care. In her free time, she enjoys learning new languages, traveling, hiking, and spending time with her husband and two dogs.

As always, we are taking every precaution to keep you and our staff as safe as possible during the current COVID-19 situation. We ask that you please observe the following to help protect the health and safety of everyone and are very grateful for your cooperation:  

• Please wear a mask upon entering the building.
• Please come to a visit by yourself and leave other family members either at home or in the car. Patients under 18 may bring one parent/guardian. 
• We will ask you to use the provided hand sanitizer upon entering and leaving the building.
• There will be a CHCB staff member wearing personal protective equipment (masks etc.) at the entrance to take your temperature. If it is over 99.5 degrees, you will be asked to return to your vehicle and you will be called to discuss the plan for your visit. 
• After screening, you will be directed to the appropriate area to check-in for your appointment. Please follow the signs that help ensure adequate distancing between fellow patients.
• If, on the day of your appointment, you have any of the following symptoms, please call our office to discuss the plan for your visit: Cough, difficulty breathing, chills, fever, earache, sore throat, body aches, headaches, diarrhea, or new loss of taste or smell. 

In the Dental Clinical Areas:

• The clinical staff may appear to be dressed differently as we are required to wear a higher level of protective gear (gowns, face shields, and special masks).
• We will be using a new disinfecting oral rinse that will be administered before the procedure begins.
• Your visit may seem louder than usual, because we will be starting to use some new devices with the purpose to help disinfect the air. 
• The dental clinical area may appear less busy as we are required to modify the flow of our patients to allow sufficient social/physical distancing.
• The Dental Assistants are no longer allowed to step out into the waiting area wearing their protective gear, so we will do our best to accommodate your rescheduling needs and answer any questions you have before you leave the exam room.
• Finally and unfortunately, we can no longer accept hugs or handshakes.

We apologize for the inconvenience of these measures. We hope that you understand the need for these guidelines and that we are staying abreast of all scientific information that informs these decisions.