"I love the collaborative nature of the practice at MIT Medical. Patients benefit from the constant communication among clinicians involved in their care."

MIT Medical's Internal Medicine Service welcomed triage nurse Kelly Fink, B.S.N., in March. Fink will support physicians and nurse practitioners on the 2 West Internal Medicine cluster in Cambridge. She will be working an alternating schedule with triage nurse Sandra Turner, R.N.

Fink earned her associate's degree in nursing at Maria College in Albany, New York, and her bachelor's degree at Russell Sage College in Troy, New York. After working in Albany for a year, she decided to move to Boston. "It's the place to be if you want to work at the best hospitals in world, and that's what I wanted," she explains. During her 20 years in Boston, Fink has worked at Children's Hospital, New England Deaconess, and Brigham and Women's. Her experience includes inpatient care, ambulatory care, occupational health, pediatrics, home care, travel health, and infection control. "I really wanted to get as much experience as I could in all aspects of nursing," she notes.

At MIT Medical, Fink will provide a variety of clinical services, including patient teaching, administering prescribed travel immunizations, contraceptive counseling, and doing telephone triage-helping patients decide when and if they need to come in to see a clinician.

Fink says she looks forward to working with the other triage nurses, nurse practitioners, and physicians in the Internal Medicine Service. "The physicians at MIT Medical really embrace the nurse practitioner role and the nurse practitioners here are wonderful at mentoring the other nurses." This is important to Fink, who says she hopes to purse a master's degree in nursing and become a nurse practitioner. "I really feel like I can grow in this environment," she says.

When not working, Fink enjoys spending time with her husband, their young daughter, and the family's numerous pets, including their two chocolate Labrador Retrievers.

"I'm excited about the future of dentistry. Technology is making treatment easier, faster, and more comfortable for patients."

MIT Medical's Dental Service welcomed general dentist Gretchen Ghent, D.M.D, in January 2006. Ghent sees patients Monday through Friday in Cambridge.

Ghent, a New York native, earned her bachelor's degree at the State University of New York at Albany and came to Boston to study dentistry at Tufts University. After earning her degree in 2002, she worked in a private dental practice in North Adams, Mass.

It was there that she first became interested in the applying technology to dentistry. "I received training on Invisalign braces and used some sophisticated software for treatments." She says dentistry has changed drastically since she was a child. "Treatments are becoming less invasive and faster, resulting in a much more pleasant experience for patients," she explains. In addition to dental technology, Ghent is interested in forensic dentistry and has attended workshops on the subject.

After some time in North Adams, she and her fiancé moved to California, where he grew up. "I spent about two years in the San Jose area, and I realized I wanted to be back in Boston." Somehow, she managed to convince her fiancé to relocate to the east coast. Though still a dedicated Yankees fan, Ghent says Boston feels like home, and she's happy to be settled here.

In her spare time, Ghent enjoys reading cooking and playing and listening to all kinds of music.

top

"I enjoy working with the youngest members of the community here at MIT."

Pediatrician Ingrid Henar, M.D., M.P.H., joined the MIT Medical Pediatrics Service in January, 2006. She sees patients in Cambridge on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. She is board certified in both pediatrics and adolescent medicine and works with patients from birth to age 25.

Originally from Suriname, Henar earned her medical degree at Anton de Kom University in the capital city of Paramaribo. She came to the United States in 1981 to continue her medical education. "Most of my colleagues went to the Netherlands to specialize, but my parents were moving to New York at the time, so it made sense for me to come to the States," she explains. Henar completed her residency in pediatrics at The Children's Medical Center University Hospital at Stony Brook, and her fellowship in ambulatory and community pediatrics at Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh, Penn. She also earned a master's degree in community health services at the University of Pittsburgh's School of Public Health.

"I became very interested in community health during my training and have worked with community health centers for the last 18 years," Henar says. She is particularly interested in preventive medicine, which she did in Suriname early in her career.

In her spare time, Henar enjoys traveling and exercise, particularly tai chi and dance classes.

top

"I was drawn to nursing because of its focus on people and because of its practical nature."

MIT Medical Urgent Care triage nurse Richard "Rick" Keller, R.N., sees a little bit of everything in his work. One of his major functions is helping patients navigate the system. For patients who call Urgent Care, he helps them decide if they need to come in immediately, stay at home and self-treat, or make an appointment with another service at MIT Medical. For patients who come in to Urgent Care, he determines what's needed and facilitates care as soon as possible. The variety, he says, is what he loves most.

When Keller graduated from Bunker Hill Community College with an associate's degree in nursing 16 years ago, he was anxious to get broad experience. His first job was on the burn unit of Massachusetts General Hospital. He describes the orientation program as "amazing" and continues to have a special interest in burn treatment.

In 2000, after working in intensive care at the Lemuel Shattuck Hospital for eight years, Keller decided to pursue his interest in community care at the East Boston Neighborhood Health Center. He worked there as a charge nurse in Urgent Care for six years until coming to MIT Medical's Urgent Care Service. "I really loved working in the community health setting because I got to know my patients and the community they lived in. It's one of the things I really enjoy about working at MIT, too," he explains.

Keller is married with five children. While having such a large family doesn't leave him much time to himself, Keller says he does enjoy one motorcycle trip a year on his Honda Gold Wing.

top