DEKALB – Nurse Practitioner Rachel I. Raven has joined the DeKalb Junction Health Center, an outpatient primary healthcare service operated by Gouverneur Hospital.

Raven has an extensive background in family health and primary care. She provides comprehensive care to children, teens, and adults, including diagnosis and treatment of ear-aches, abdominal pain, breathing problems, and infections. NP Raven can provide referrals to specialists for complex or rarely seen diseases and disorders. She also provides health screenings for diseases such as cancer and diabetes, and provides health assessments to establish a baseline against which changes in health status can be measured and evaluated throughout the lifespan.

“Nurse practitioners are able to practice independently and are full members of the medical staff,” said Marlinda LaValley, CEO of Gouverneur Hospital. “Rachel Raven has a collaborative relationship with generalists and specialists not only at Gouverneur Hospital but across the Health System. She’s known as a professional with a deep commitment to our community,” said LaValley.

NP Raven holds a master of science in nursing degree from SUNY Upstate Medical College of the Health Professions, where she completed her family nurse practitioner training in May of 2011, with a minor in education. She earned her bachelor of science degree in nursing, also from SUNY Upstate, in 2009.

Originally from Gouverneur, Raven returned to the area to work in family health in a variety of settings. In her rare spare time, she serves as the practitioner for the Help and Hope Mission, a faith-based healthcare clinic in Gouverneur providing free and reduced-cost services to low-income, uninsured, and underinsured residents. NP Raven is the primary founder of the mission.

To make an appointment with NP Raven, interested individuals may contact the DeKalb Junction Health Center, 6 US Route 11, at 347-3830.