Meet Doctor Joy

Meet Yvonne Joy, DNP, APRN

Yvonne Joy is a board-certified family nurse practitioner with a doctorate degree in nursing.   She has over 25 years of healthcare experience.

She is also an advanced certified hospice and palliative nurse. She is a veteran of the United States Air Force.

She is the third of four children for her parents Roland and Eileen.   While growing up in Massachusetts, her dad joined the Air Force when she was 8 years old. They moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado for three years, then to Troy, New York for three years, followed by a move to Hudson, New Hampshire for five years where she graduated from high school.  She enjoyed moving around the United States and seeing different parts of the country.

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Yvonne’s Early Career

Yvonne began her career in nursing after completing her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Syracuse University, where she also participated in Air Force  Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), culminating in her commissioning as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force.  Her first duty assignment was at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.   She completed the Obstetric Nursing Internship and worked in labor and delivery and in the maternity ward. Her second duty assignment was at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma,  where she worked in the maternity ward and in the primary care clinic. During this time, she earned a Master of Business Administration from Webster University. She separated from active duty after six years of service and remained in the Reserves for another eight years.

Upon separation from the Air Force, she and her husband Michael moved from Oklahoma to the St Louis, Missouri area. Over the next 24 months, they welcomed three children into their family, twin boys and one girl. While living in the Saint Louis area for three years, Yvonne worked clinically at a tertiary care center in the high-risk labor and delivery and maternity units.  She also started teaching as adjunct faculty for Saint Louis University. A job opportunity for Michael brought them to Connecticut, where they have lived for the last 18 years.  Yvonne completed her Master of Science in Nursing from Saint Louis University and began working as a nurse practitioner, providing primary care for residents living in long-term care. She also taught as adjunct faculty for several universities in Connecticut until taking a full-time position at the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford, Connecticut. She completed her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from the University of Connecticut.

Yvonne has had a variety of clinical practice experiences as a nurse practitioner, including primary care, urgent care, retail health, long-term care, and Hospice.

She enjoys learning, teaching, and clinical practice. She embraces lifelong learning and sees it as a necessity to provide the best care for patients.  She continues to teach at the University of Saint Joseph and enjoys precepting students in the clinical setting. Her favorite part of clinical practice is partnering with patients to give them the best care possible.

To maintain work-life balance,  Yvonne enjoys reading, traveling, swimming, and hula hooping. Her favorite authors include Jodi Picoult and Michael Smerconish.  She has traveled around the world, including ten service trips to Guyana, South America. She has a funny story about a train ride in Liege, Belgium – ask her about it when you see her.  She uses water aerobics for gentle, yet moderately intense exercise.  And, did you know that 8 minutes of continuous hula hooping is the equivalent to running 1 mile?

Her philosophy of care is that patients should receive care based on the best evidence available and care, that aligns with their preferences, values, and beliefs. Clinical practice guidelines serve to provide the best evidence and recommendations for care but they are intended to guide our practice together with the patient. Yvonne will help you set goals for your health and give you the tools you need to meet those goals.

Our goal is to help you be your healthiest self.

As your primary care provider, we want you to call us to ask general questions, to seek advice on whether to go to urgent care or the emergency department and when you think you need to see a specialist.

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