Family nurse practitioner joins Clinton County Rural Health

A board certified family nurse practitioner has joined the staff of Clinton County Rural Health.

Kayla Ritzel, RN, FNP-BC, of Highland, will primarily see patients in the Germantown office at 205 Munster St., and provide care one day a week in the CCRH offices at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Breese.

She brings almost six years of experience to the practice, joining the Transitional Care Unit staff of SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center in St. Louis in 2004 after receiving a Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree from Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville.

In 2005, Ritzel transferred to the Nursing Float Pool and gained experience in Pediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care, Transitional Care, Emergency Department, General Medicine and Hematology/Oncology.

While at Glennon, she also was an undergraduate clinical instructor at Maryville University in St. Louis, worked in the Intensive/Intermediate Care Unit at Anderson Hospital in Maryville and provided home care for a cerebral palsy patient with Anchor Home Health Care in Glen Carbon.

In 2006, Ritzel returned to SIUE for her Master of Science in Nursing Degree including a specialization as a Family Nurse Practitioner. While there, she authored “Advanced Practice Nurses’ Knowledge on Complementary Medicine,” did presentations on Medicare Reimbursement, Oral Hypoglycemics, Joint Pain and Nutrition; and completed a diagnostics class on suturing, mole/wart removal and X-Ray/Lab analysis.

Ritzel will work under the supervision of Roch Lefebvre, MD. Others in the practice include physicians Jonathan Osborn, MD, and Timothy Beaty, MD; physician assistants Paula Griffee-Wilcox, PA, and Amy Krause, PA; medical and office staff.

The practice specializes in family, obstetric and pediatric care. The three physicians are on the active staff at St. Joseph’s in Breese where they have admitting privileges.

Dr. Osborn has practiced at St. Joseph-Breese since 1979. He was joined by Dr. Lefebvre in 1995, the two establishing CCRH the same year. Dr. Beaty joined the practice in 1997; Dr. Beaty and Dr. Osborn are both certified by the American Board of Family Medicine.

Ritzel is employed by the HSHS Medical Group, a network of primary and specialty care physicians, physician groups, nurses and medical professionals aligned with Hospital Sisters Health System in communities throughout Southern and Central Illinois and Wisconsin, including St. Joseph’s in Breese. Launched in 2008, the HSHS Medical Group is a key component of the HSHS Care Integration strategy which is designed to enhance quality health care by placing every patient at the center of a network of services.

For more information, contact CCRH at 526-7271 or hospital Professional Services Director Jene Bieri at 526-5458 or e-mail Jene Bieri.