Spotlight: WBWC's Nurse Practitioners

Deborah Adler, WHNP, and Rachel VanBree, FNP/WHNP

Just because you're not pregnant doesn't mean you can't get your primary care at WBWC! Our two nurse practitioners, Rachel VanBree, FNP/WHNP, and Deborah Adler, WHNP, provide a full spectrum of well-woman care for women from puberty to post-menopause. In addition to your annual PAP test and gynecological exam, you can also get a complete yearly physical with our NPs. Deborah and Rachel also treat respiratory and urinary tract infections, as well as minor gynecological problems; prescribe medications and order lab work; provide menopause consultation and support; and assist with family planning and birth control needs -- in short, anything you would need from a primary care provider.
      Both Deborah and Rachel have extensive backgrounds in Women's Health.  Deborah started her career with a psychology degree and spent time working on a research study on premature babies.  She changed paths, however, and earned her Master's degree as a Women's Heatlh Nurse Practitioner from Vanderbilt University in 1998.  She worked for several years as a WHNP in an outpatient clinic in Durham, seeing a wide range of patients, from menarche through menopause.  In 2002, she moved with her husband to California, where she worked at an inner-city hospital as labor and delivery nurse and at a clinic as a NP.  She later moved to Tennessee, where she taught at East Tennessee State University, and gave birth to her daughter.  Deborah moved back to NC in 2006. She gave birth to her son in 2007 at WBWC with the loving guidance of Maureen and Ellen.  She taught online nursing classes before joining the WBWC staff in August 2010.  She's currently working on her Lactation Consultant certification, and will sit for the exam this summer. You'll find Deborah in the WBWC on Fridays.
     Rachel entered the health care field as a nurse in the intensive care unit.  After a few years, she began working as a labor and delivery nurse, both at the hospital and at WBWC.  Her experiences working with laboring women at WBWC encouraged her to pursue graduate studies in women's health, and she earned her Family Nurse Practitioner/Women's Health Nurse Practitioner degree from UNC Chapel Hill in 2004.  As an NP at the Chatham County Health Department, Rachel provided primary and obstetric care for a variety of patients.  Rachel gave birth to her first daughter at WBWC in 2008, with the guidance of Maureen and Jewell.  She returned to WBWC as a Family and Women's Health Nurse Practitioner in October 2008.  In 2010, she was back to being a WBWC patient, and gave birth to her second daughter!  She's now back in the WBWC clinic, seeing patients four days a week.
    Visit our clinic and see how our woman-centered primary care differs from what you may have come to expect from other types of care providers.  Our knowledgeable, experienced Nurse Practitioners are available for appointments in the WBWC clinic to provide sensitive, personalized care for women in all stages of life.