Meghan Foster, DNP
RANDOLPH, Vt.—This fall Gifford welcomes Family Nurse Practitioner Meghan Foster to serve as a member of its Family Medicine team at Gifford Primary Care as well as provide care at a new school-based health clinic for Orange Southwest School District (OSSD) students.
Foster brings a strong community focus and passion for quality improvement to both roles, and looks forward to responding to the needs of students and their families as they continue to adjust to life during the pandemic. Facilitating a school needs assessment is top on her to-do list.
“It’s unique that we are starting the school-based clinic now,” said Foster, referring to the pandemic. “There’s a lot of opportunity to bend and flex with the needs of community members. The clinic is going to be successful only if we are meeting their needs.”
Foster spends time in each of the OSSD schools in Randolph, Braintree and Brookfield. Her clinical interests include adolescence and working with youth as they transition from pediatric to adult care.
“I look forward to empowering young people to make good, healthy decisions and take control of their health care,” Foster said.
She describes her approach to care as personalized.
“I treat patients how I would want a member of my family to be treated,” said Foster, who comes from a long line of nurses, including her grandmother, a nurse practitioner.
“I learned what she was doing—meeting people where they were to help them—which I found inspiring,” she said. “I make a point of knowing a patient’s story and taking the time to talk about things that may not appear to affect medical care.”
On another personal note, Foster said having “a child with special needs absolutely informs” her approach to care and her understanding of the resources available for families as well as the challenges they face. “As a busy working mom, how great would that have been, to have access to a school-based clinic?”
Foster’s previous experience includes registered nurse positions in urgent care and rheumatology at The University of Vermont (UVM) Medical Center in Burlington, Vt.; a substitute school nurse position at Chittenden East Supervisory Union in Richmond, Vt.; a registered nurse and case manager position at Visiting Nurse Association of Colchester, Vt.; registered nurse positions in primary care and cardiothoracic surgery at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington, Vt.; and a registered nurse position in medical surgical and the intensive care unit at Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans, Vt. She earned a doctor of nursing practice in the family nurse practitioner (FNP) program at UVM in Burlington; master’s and bachelor’s degrees in nursing from Western Governors University in Salt Lake City, Utah; an associate degree in nursing from Cape Cod Community College in West Barnstable, Mass.; and a bachelor’s degree in classical studies from Wellesley College in Wellesley Hills, Mass. She is a member of the American Nursing Association (ANA), American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), Vermont Nurse Practitioner Association (VNPA), and Association of Rheumatology Professionals (ARP), and holds several nursing certifications.
When not at work, Foster enjoys spending time with her family on their small farm, gardening, hiking, mountain biking, and skiing.
For more information about Gifford providers, visit giffordhealthcare.org/provider.
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Reminder during COVID-19: All Gifford clinics are open. We encourage patients to schedule and keep their medical appointments. It is vital that we continue to provide care and treat members of our community so that medical conditions do not escalate. If a patient does not have a mask upon arrival for an appointment, Gifford will provide one. For more information about COVID-19 and answers to frequently asked questions, visit giffordhealthcare.org/coronavirus-covid-19, cdc.gov or healthvermont.gov.
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Gifford is a community hospital in Randolph, Vt., with family health centers in Berlin, Bethel, Chelsea, Randolph, Rochester, and White River Junction; and specialty services throughout central Vermont. A Federally Qualified Health Center and a Top 100 Critical Access Hospital in the country, Gifford is a full-service hospital with a 24-hour emergency department and inpatient unit; many surgical services; a day care; two adult day programs; and 30-bed Menig Nursing Home, which was named by U.S. News & World Report as one of the best 39 nursing homes in the country in 2012. The Birthing Center, established in 1977, was the first in Vermont to offer an alternative to traditional hospital-based deliveries, and continues to be a leader in midwifery and family-centered care. The hospital’s mission is to improve individuals’ and community health by providing and assuring access to affordable, high-quality health care in Gifford’s service area.
