3 Cheers: How Camden Transplant Nurse Is Bringing Health Care To The Underserved
CAMDEN, N.J. (CBS) -- Tanya Bronzell-Wynder, who has had a long career as a transplant nurse, saw a need for health care in underserved areas, so she opened her own clinic. Bronzell-Wynder, a doctor of nursing practice, stands in her offices in Camden, reminiscing on her past achievements and her career in transplant surgery.
"I realized after working in transplant for 15-plus years, 'Well, what happens if people were treated early on to prevent the end organ failure?'" she said.
Bronzell-Wynder saw a trend in those who needed transplants. Often they were underserved and without insurance.
"I said, 'You know, someone needs to serve this population, and maybe we can stop that,'" she said.
Bronzell-Wynder still works in lung transplant at Temple University Hospital, but when she's not there, she's at Lifecycles Health Center and Services, which she founded to provide quality health care to anyone who needs it.
"I can do advanced assessments, I can diagnose, I can prescribe. I can be that primary care provider," she said. "If I need to spend 30 or 45 minutes with a patient, I do. Our visits are a little bit different than the typical one, because not only am I doing everything you will get done in the primary doctor's office, but I do a lot of education."
Patient Ana Castellar said, "I don't know how she did her research to be here, but she's a godsend."
Bronzell-Wynder opened Lifecycles in November 2016. The nurse-managed health center operates on small grants and donations and does not require patients to have insurance.
"If they don't have it and they are sick, I see them anyway because everybody deserves health care," Bronzell-Wynder said.
"She does make a difference," said patient Rose Morales. "She really, really does."
For helping those get the quality care they deserve no matter the circumstances, we give 3 Cheers to Tayna Bronzell-Wynder.
"To serve and to see people get better, that is the reward," she said.
Learn more about Lifecycles Health Center and Services.
