Family nurse practitioner Andrea LaRosa has joined the renowned sports medicine team at Gifford Medical Center’s Sharon Health Center.
Born in Massachusetts, LaRosa grew up in Shelburne. She went on to major in environmental studies and conservation biology at Middlebury College, but heart surgery her freshman year had her changing career choices.
LaRosa had a congenital heart defect that wasn’t discovered until college. “I was inspired by the nurses who cared for me,” said LaRosa, who graduated from Middlebury and immediately joined the master’s entry nursing program at the University of Vermont.
She completed the one-year program, earning her registered nurse licensure, and went on to complete her master’s degree at the University of Vermont to become a family nurse practitioner.
She previously worked as a registered nurse in a variety of fields, including as a pediatric and family nurse with the Visiting Nurse Association of Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties and as an operating room nurse at Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans.
Her experiences in orthopedic surgery coupled with her own athletic interests led her to the new position at the Sharon Health Center.
“This was the ideal, dream job,” LaRosa says, noting she is excited to practice high-quality medicine in a rural setting.
“Even when I lived in Burlington, I was familiar with Gifford. Gifford has a reputation as a place with really high-quality care and as a small hospital that does a lot of big things,” LaRosa says.
She also praises the Sharon Health Center’s staff, facility and interdisciplinary team. The Sharon Health Center has two podiatric surgeons, a sports medicine physician, a sports medicine chiropractor, an athletic trainer and physical therapists. It is also home to X-ray and MRI diagnostic imaging.
LaRosa is board certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center and a member of the Vermont Nurse Practitioners Association. Her clinical interests include sports medicine, especially for adolescents, and surgery.
In her free time, she is a cyclist, runner, and skier. She currently mountain bikes with the 1K2GO-Onion River Sports cycling team and is a former youth Nordic ski coach. She now lives in Washington.
Call her or another member of the Sharon Health Center sports medicine team at (802) 763-8000.
