BRISTOL — Mountain Health Center in Bristol is offering additional services to the community thanks to the addition of three new doctors, a nurse practitioner and a dental hygienist.
One of the doctors, Frank Provato, and the nurse practitioner, Jessica Lindert, are providing internal medicine and adult psychiatric services, respectively, in the health center. The other two doctors, Susan A. Grimes and John Viskup, and the hygienist, Diane Mortier, work in the dental center, which is located in the Mountain Health Center annex at 61 Pine St.
Mountain Health Center is accepting new patients of all ages, and, because it is a Federally Qualified Health Care provider it can offer services regardless of insurance or ability to pay. It offers personalized assistance with insurance enrollment and discounted care applications.
Here is some background on the new health care providers:
Dr. Frank Provato, MD, is board certified in Internal Medicine and specializes in the treatment of a broad spectrum of acute and chronic illnesses and injuries in patients aged 16 and older. He has a special interest in the treatment of diabetes, high blood pressure and chronic heart and lung disease.
He received his medical degree from the SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, N.Y., and completed post-graduate training at Albany (N.Y.) Medical Center. He has more than 40 years of experience in clinical practice and medical administration.
In addition to seeing patients, Provato also serves as medical director of Mountain Health Center. The New York City native has been in Vermont for almost two decades. In his spare time, he enjoys fishing, hunting, reading, listening to music and spending time with his family.
Jessica Lindert is an adult psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner. She said she is excited about her return to Addison County as a psychiatric provider after a brief foray to Rutland County.
Lindert has spent her entire career in community and inpatient mental health, including many years with the Counseling Service of Addison County. She studied in UVM’s Master’s Entry Program in nursing with specialization in psychiatry and is committed to remaining in field of community mental health.
Her current position at Mountain Health Center represents a collaboration between CSAC and Mountain Health and offers close collaboration across multiple disciplines. Lindert sees adults across the spectrum of psychiatric and mental health needs with a focus on careful assessment, collaborative treatment planning, and medication management.
Dr. Susan A. Grimes, DDS, FAGD, who joined Mountain Health Dental Care this past October, has been practicing general dentistry in Vermont since 1983. Over the past several years she has taken part in volunteer dental mission trips to Thailand and Kenya. Being able to give back to her profession has been very important to her and helping those less fortunate benefit from a healthy mouth may help them become dental ambassadors themselves, she believes.
Grimes enjoys providing dental care to adults and children of all ages. Continuing education has been an integral part of her career and she feels there is never an end to what we can learn and improve upon with all the new techniques and materials available in dentistry today.
Diane Mortier, RDH, has been working in the dental field since 1969, when she was office-trained as a dental assistant. Later, she studied and received her Dental Hygiene degree from UVM. She has been practicing dental hygiene for 20 years.
Mortier says she enjoys meeting and serving new dental patients at Mountain Health Dental, while working with the staff at Mountain Health.
Dr. John Viskup, DDS, joined Mountain Health Dental Care in September 2016. He grew up in central New York state and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine. He served his residency at the Mary Fletcher Hospital in Burlington and after practicing briefly in New York City returned to Vermont, purchasing a practice in Vergennes. He also started a dental practice in Waitsfield, which was severely damaged by Tropical Storm Irene.
Viskup has seen dramatic changes in the field of dentistry during his nearly 50 years of experience.
He feels very fortunate to not only have the opportunity to help people have a beautiful smile, but encourages them to be aware of the fact that a healthy mouth is the first step to overall good general health and happiness.
More information is online at www.mountainhealthcenter.com.