SITKA — The SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) S’áxt’ Hít Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital is pleased to announce the addition of Mary Barrett, FNP-BC, MSN, to its medical staff as a family nurse practitioner.

“We are very excited to have family nurse practitioner Mary Barrett join the medical staff at Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital,” said Dr. John Baciocco, MD, Assistant Medical Director at S’áxt’ Hít Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital. “Mary has worked as a public health RN (registered nurse) in Kotzebue, inpatient RN in Anchorage and for the last almost 20 years as a FNP (family nurse practitioner) in Wasilla, Palmer and Anchorage. Mary’s extensive and diverse medical experience will be a valuable addition to our urgent care and emergency room care teams.”

Mary specializes in family practice and urgent care, and she will work in the hospital’s urgent care department. Mary holds a Master of Science in Nursing degree from the University of Alaska Anchorage, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology and environmental science from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn.

An Alaskan for 30 years, Mary has worked in family practice and urgent care with clinics in Palmer and Wasilla, worked in urgent care in Anchorage, was an outpatient department registered nurse (RN) and public health nurse (PHN) in Kotzebue, and a RN at the Providence Hospital Thermal Unit and Progressive Care Unit in Anchorage. She is licensed as an Advanced Nurse Practioner (ANP) by the Alaska Board of Nursing and board certified as a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP-BC) by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

Mary is interested in preventive medicine, especially through nutrition, exercise and stress reduction. She enjoys running (she has completed the New York and Boston marathons), botany, bird-watching (and learning the species unique to Southeast Alaska), plant-based cooking, hiking, biking, singing, dancing, reading and playing with her two cats. She is married to SEARHC behavioral health clinician Jeff Arndt, who works for the Gunaanastí Bill Brady Healing Center.

“I am excited about the holistic wellness approach SEARHC promotes for patients and staff and look forward to being a team member to fulfill the mission,” Mary said.