APP of the Quarter

Michelle joined the Department of Anesthesiology in 2015 as a nurse practitioner (NP) with critical care medicine. Her NP career initially began in 4400 Surgical/Burn/Trauma ICU but with the growth of the division, her career also expanded to 7800 SICU, eICU, Memorial Hospital Belleville, 8200 COVID ECMO, and a small amount of time at Christian Hospital Northeast to provide additional support during the COVID pandemic. Additionally, in 2019 she accepted an APP Leadership position at Memorial Hospital, Belleville.

Michelle says she is “grateful for the opportunity to take care of patients and families during some of the darkest days of their lives”, citing this as “a constant reminder that both humbles and inspires me to be grateful for everything I have each day.”

Within our department, she finds great joy in the expansion of our critical care APP group, citing these new opportunities to learn and work alongside such a diverse group of highly intelligent, culturally diverse, and engaged colleagues as a personal motivator to continue to improve her practice each day.

Michelle was named the Q1 2023 APP of the Quarter! Her nominator says, "Michelle is a great teammate, leader, patient advocate, and friend. She truly cares about our ICU as one that not only delivers quality care to our patients, but that's great to work in as well."

Outside of work, Michelle is engaged with her spouse, young family (children ages 8, 5, 2), and dog.  She has newly adopted yoga as a daily practice both to challenge her body physically and to release some of the emotional stress brought on by caring for critically ill patients.

Fun fact, Michelle grew up in a small town in southern Illinois - so small that the entire town’s population is less than half that of the BJH patient bed capacity.

Kathleen has been a Physician Assistant in the Surgical ICU at Barnes/Washington University since 2017. Originally from Sacramento, California, Kathleen lived in the Bay Area of California for six years to complete her undergraduate degree at Santa Clara University and then worked as an EMT. She then moved to St. Louis in 2014 to start her Physician Assistant program at Saint Louis University. She quickly fell in love with St. Louis and it's Midwest feel (without the up-North winters) and began working at Washington University soon after gaining her Physician Assistant Master of Medical Science degree.

The Surgical ICU has been the perfect job for Kathleen as she loves to stay busy and work in a fast paced environment. Her co-workers are amazingly supportive and have truly become close friends. She appreciates the challenges that her patients' present and has enjoyed occasionally working at Christian Hospital Northeast whenever needed, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kathleen, her boyfriend (Jeremy) and Jack Russell (Maggie) live in the Central West End and love eating, drinking and playing through the city. She especially loves to spend her free time biking (road and mountain biking), golfing (poorly), going to concerts and having get-togethers with friends and family. She's never met a party she didn't want to host! Fun fact: even though she grew up in California, she only cheers for Michigan sports since her parents are both Michiganders. Go Blue!!

Kathleen was named the Q3 2020 APP of the Quarter because she is an excellent team player and a creative problem-solver who is dedicated to delivering high-quality patient care.

Nicole joined the department in 2013 after graduating from Goldfarb School of Nursing as an Acute Care Nurse practitioner. Nicole is currently the lead APP at Christian Hospital Northeast ICU. Outside of work, she enjoys home improvement projects, gardening, hiking, and spending time with her son, Blake, and daughter, Taylor.

Nicole was named the Q3 2021 APP of the Quarter for her dedication, resourcefulness, and support of her fellow colleagues. Congratulations, Nicole!

Joshua Fender (He/Him) has been an APP with the department since 2021. He has a BS in Fire Paramedicine from Lindenwood University. He obtained his MSN with an emphasis on quality improvement informatics, education, and leadership from Sant Louis University. Josh recently graduated with his AGACNP post-master's certificate from Goldfarb School of Nursing. He has been a recipient of St. Louis Magazine's Excellence in Nursing and March of Dimes Nurse of the Year. In his free time, you can find him mushroom hunting, cooking, and spending time with his partner Eric and their two golden doodles Riley and Zion.

Josh was named the Q3 2022 APP of the Quarter!

His nominator says, "Josh is an incredible team player. He is always helping with schedule changes and picking up extra moonlighting. He is always positive and easy to work with. He will lend a helping hand without being asked and he provides compassionate care to his patients."

Maureen Flanagan (She/Her) is a nurse practitioner from Dallas, Texas. She earned her bachelor's degree from Washington University in St. Louis in 2014 and went on to earn her RN and MSN from Yale University in 2017. She has been practicing in the Surgical ICUs here at BJH since her graduation in 2017. In her free time, she loves exploring new places around the world, cooking new pasta recipes, and spending time with her dog, Luka.

Maureen was named the Q4 2022 APP of the Quarter! Her nominator says, "Maureen works hard in difficult situations and goes above & beyond to provide great care for her patients. She's smart and is a true team player."

Teresa was born and raised in St. Louis, MO and joined the department in 2016 after graduating from the ACNP program at Saint Louis University. Prior to becoming a nurse practitioner, she was a bedside nurse in the emergency department and cardiothoracic ICU at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Outside of work, Teresa enjoys spending time with her husband Brett and their boxer, Shirley. She also enjoys travelling, cooking, SCUBA diving, reading, and spending time outdoors running, hiking, kayaking, camping, and gardening

"I feel blessed to have been chosen to be part of the SICU APP group as my first job out of school. I enjoy the fast paced environment and have an amazing group of co-workers that have helped me learn and grow in my profession!"

Teresa was named the Q1 2021 APP of the Quarter! She is always attentive to the staff and patient needs and is a great resource to have on our care team! Congratulations, Teresa!

Becki Loveless, PA-C graduated from Quinnipiac University in 2000. She has worked in a variety of fields including orthopedics, emergency medicine, CT surgery, and most recently made the transition to critical care in July 2019. She currently works in the CTICU at BJH and in the ED at Missouri Baptist.

Becki has been active in both state and national PA organizations, currently serving as the HOD representative for MoAPA at the national AAPA conference. In addition, she has traveled throughout the country as a lecturer for the AAPA on responsible prescribing of opioids as well as the opioid epidemic. Becki was honored with the designation of Distinguished Fellow of the AAPA for outstanding dedication and achievement in the PA profession in 2015.  In her free time, she spends time being a sports mom for her two boys and traveling the world when there isn't a pandemic going on.

Becki was named the Q4 2020 APP of the Quarter! She has been in the COVID-19 unit working nights for many months without a break. She has been a wonderful resource to her colleagues regarding caring for ECMO patients, and she consistently recognizes and helps out her team when others are overwhelmed with their workloads.

Melissa graduated with a BSN from the University of Arkansas, Fort Smith, in 2011 and obtained her MSN, Adult Gero Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP) from the University of Southern Indiana, Evansville, in 2020. She has practiced as an RN in the SICU at Northwest Medical Center, Springdale, Arkansas, from 2011-2013 and the CVICU at Washington Regional Medical Center, Fayetteville, from 2013-2020. While at Washington Regional, Melissa served as Nurse Residency Facilitator and Critical Care Coordinator. Melissa joined the APP group in September 2020 and staff in the CTICUs.

Melissa was named the Q2 2021 APP of the Quarter! Her nominator says, "She is highly motivated and took initiative by looking up patients before her shifts and studying at home with any procedures or devices she wasn’t familiar with. You can tell she cares about her patients and is always advocating for them. She also is a great team player, and I know I can always count on her if I need help."

Shawn is one of the APP Leads for the 44/78 ICUs as well as ACT/Codes for North Tower. He graduated from DeSales University and has been a Physician Assistant for 13.5 years. Shawn has worked in the Emergency Room, Neuro ICU, and is currently in the Trauma/Surgical ICU. Shawn is happily married and has two beautiful daughters. He is currently in the Army National Guard. Outside of work Shawn loves spending time with his wife and children, working out, and renovating their lake house.

Shawn was named the Q4 2021 APP of the Quarter! “Shawn consistently works to improve our APP group, advocate for our group, and enhance our knowledge base. Recently he has been putting in a tremendous amount of effort with the APP US courses and deserves special recognition for his steadfast daily efforts and also this large project he has taken on.” Congratulations, Shawn!

Kevin began his career in healthcare in 2005 at Barnes-Jewish Hospital as a Respiratory Therapist, followed by Physician Assistant school at Saint Louis University—graduating in 2015. "I have thoroughly enjoyed my APP career with full-time work in Family Medicine, Emergency Medicine, and now Critical Care Medicine," says Kevin. "Each area has helped me to grow my knowledge of medicine. I truly love my career and hope to share this passion with my surrounding peers and the community we serve." In his free time, he enjoys camping, hiking, reading, watching re-runs of old TV shows and movies, and most of all: spending time with his family. He has a wonderful family including a beautiful wife, three daughters, three cats, and a wonderfully talented Australian Shepherd.

Kevin was named the Q1 2022 APP of the Quarter! “Kevin has been an excellent addition to our critical care team. Despite having previous experience, he does not hesitate to ask for advice on topics he is not familiar with. He is always willing to help out when needed and provides exemplary bedside manner with not only patients but their family members as well. He somehow manages to stay calm despite any type of situation and has been wonderful to work with.” Congratulations, Kevin!