Jennifer Mariani, APRN is a Board Certified Family Nurse Practitioner. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas and her Master of Science in Nursing from South University in Tampa, Florida. She is a member of the Florida Society of Rheumatology and regularly participates in continuing education focusing on expanding her knowledge of the most current treatments in Rheumatology and related disorders.
Jennifer is excited to be apart of our great team at Highlands Advanced Rheumatology and Arthritis Center. She is looking forward to working with patients to manage their care, providing treatments and improving the quality of life for patients in central Florida.
During her off time, Jennifer enjoys visiting our beautiful Florida beaches, family outings with her three sons and planning her upcoming wedding.
Role of nurse practitioners
A chronic shortage of rheumatologists exists throughout the US. In most practices, waiting times for a new patient to see a rheumatologist is 2 to 6 months, and many rheumatologists struggle to meet the needs for follow-up care of existing patients. The shortage is projected to worsen over the next 20 years. The American College of Rheumatology has recommended the integration of Nurse Practitioners (NP) and Physician Assistants (PA) as an important way to address this shortage and extend the ability of qualified rheumatologists to meet the demands for specialty care within their communities.
As a result, HARAC has created a team wherein the physician work in a coordinated fashion to see patients in a timely manner and reduce the risk of complications of delay. The expanded physician schedules provided by the NP/PAs have successfully reduced wait times substantially, while maintaining the capacity for personalized care.
The value of this integrated model of scheduling with the rheumatologist and their team NP/PAs means that when someone calls for an appointment, a visit can be provided with the minimum of delay. To maintain the success of this strategy, patients will typically see the team NP/PA as part of their initial visit with the rheumatologist, and intermittently through the course of care. On any visit, if necessary, patients may be seen by both the rheumatologist and NP/PA.
Welcome to Highlands Advanced Rheumatology and Arthritis Center, PL
Alexander Torres, MD
Medical Director
Highlands Rheumatology and Arthritis Center