Dr Joely Edwards, Director of Pediatrics

Dr Edwards joined HealthFirst in 2008 bringing with her over 9 years of Pediatric experience including 7 years working in community health.  She loves every segment of the Pediatric lifecycle and has been extremely active creating special programs for infants, adolescents and teens.  Dr Edwards works closely with our WIC participants, Dental Outreach patients and networking throughout the Fall River community to provide quality comprehensive pediatric care to the children of Fall River.  She is a graduate of Boston College, Saba University School of Medicine in Netherlands-Antilles and completed her Pediatric Residency program at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital/DuPont Hospital for Children located in Philadelphia, PA.

Courtney Fleming, Physicians Assistant (PA)

Courtney received a Masters Degree in Public Health from Yale University focusing on preventative health care as a human right and the importance of providing healthcare to the underserved.  She decided to focus on direct primary patient care and earned her Masters Degree as a Physician Assistant from George Washington University in Washington, D. C. in 2009.  She is committed to the mission of community health working with underserved patients as both a public health advocate and a practicing clinician.  Courtney has volunteered on numerous medical mission trips including Haiti after the devastating earthquake and several trips to Honduras.  In addition to her clinical responsibilities to direct patient care in the client, Courtney is the Provider Champion of our Women’s Health program.

  Tara Piecyk, Family Nurse Practitioner

Tara is a 2010 graduate of the School of Nursing at the University of Massachusetts-Worcester as a Family Nurse Practitioner.  While attending nursing school, she worked as a RN for several years in telemetry and home care nursing.  She has extensive experience as a social worker performing case management in both community and international situations. Tara brings a unique perspective on patient treatment and care and her affinity is working with young adults; she is planning to champion and outreach program focused on teens and adolescents.  Tara’s background includes extensive experience with many cultures in Central America and Asia that enables her to deliver culturally competent patient care and she speaks fluent Spanish.

  Stephanie Lee, Physicians Assistant (PA)

Stephanie joined HealthFirst in December 2009.  She holds a double Masters Degree from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. as a Physician Assistant and in Public Health with a concentration in Community-Oriented Primary Care.  She has extensive experience working with the homeless population and creating meaningful valuable programs to address their needs in both DC and Fall River.  Stephanie is committed to community health in addressing the many health challenges that face marginalized communities and delivering a top standard of community-oriented patient care.  Stephanie lives with her husband in Providence.  Stephanie is accepting new patients of all ages.

  Bethany Croke, Family Nurse Practitioner