RANDOLPH, Vt.—Meghan Ketcham, APRN, has joined Gifford Health Care, serving on the Primary Care team.
As an advanced practice registered nurse, Ketcham provides psychiatric care for patients of all ages.
“My role is to meet with patients who may need extra help on their mental health journey, who are generally seeing a therapist already and may need medication or are considering medication options,” said Ketcham. “I guide them in reaching their mental health goals.”
Ketcham’s philosophy of care reflects collaboration.
“Our patients have a team of people who are here to support them,” she said. “I consider all systems around a patient that may impact their mental health. My approach is family-based and trauma-informed.”
Ketcham spent 10 years as an ER nurse, during which time she saw firsthand the gap in care for patients with mental health issues. Realizing this was something she wanted to work to address, she returned to school to become a psychiatric nurse practitioner.
“I have witnessed so much trauma as an ER nurse—and the impact on people’s lives,” she said. “That experience showed me how close we all are from being deeply impacted by mental health struggles.”
Ketcham was drawn to Gifford because she prefers a “community-based, more intimate work environment where we can establish relationships with each other and our patients, and work together to coordinate care.”
Ketcham previously worked as a registered nurse in the Emergency Department at University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington, Vt., and at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington, Vt.; as a medication technician at Pine Harbour Assisted Living in Plattsburgh, N.Y.; and as a behavioral interventionist at The Howard Center in Burlington, Vt. She earned her master’s degree in nursing from Norwich University in Northfield, Vt.; a bachelor’s degree in nursing from SUNY Plattsburgh in Plattsburgh, N.Y.; and a bachelor’s degree in human development and family studies from the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vt.
In her downtime, Ketcham enjoys spending time with family, which includes two children, mountain biking, cross-fit, travel, and reading.
For more information about the team at Gifford, visit giffordhealthcare.org.
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CONTACT: Maryellen Apelquist, Communications Manager,
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Gifford is a community hospital in Randolph, Vt., with family health centers in Berlin, Bethel, Chelsea, Randolph, and Rochester, 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; an adult day program; 49-unit independent living facility, and a nursing home. The hospital’s mission is to improve individual and community health by providing and assuring access to affordable, high-quality health care in Gifford’s service area.
