Jessica McDonnell, FNP

Jessica McDonnell was raised in Rapid City, South Dakota. Her mother was a labor and delivery nurse in Rapid City and even at a young age she was impressed how women would come up to her mom and share stories about the children her mother helped deliver and care for. “It happened everywhere, the grocery store, the mall” says Jessica, “It gave me a firsthand look at the impact my mother made in people’s lives. I knew then I wanted to make an impact like she did” adds McDonnell.

After high school, McDonnell attended the University of Hawaii at Manoa on a soccer scholarship where she received her BA in Biology. After college, she played professional Women’s soccer in Germany for a time and then returned to the states where she went on to complete her BS in Nursing from Northeastern University in Boston.

McDonnell received her Masters of Science in Nursing and her FNP from George Washington University School of Nursing in 2018. She did many of her clinical rotations at Grand River Health and Valley View, where she came to love the mountains on the western slope. “I was very impressed with the medical staff here. As a student, they were amazingly supportive and answered any questions I had. I knew this was an organization I would like to eventually call home.”

When asked about her philosophy for caring for her patients McDonnell says “I enjoy treating the whole person…good health encompasses so much more than physical heath. That’s why I enjoy rural medicine, because you really get to become part of the community and understand the challenges and opportunities that arise.”

McDonnell and her husband reside in New Castle with their two large Malamutes Dakota and Cali! They love to ski, snowboard and take advantage of spending time in the beautiful outdoors and the mountains.