Meet Our Team!

Our Founders

Tracy Ann Ramos, MS, CNP

Born in London, U.K., Tracy Ramos became a registered nurse in 1987 at Prince Charles Hospital in Wales. In 1988 she moved to Dorset England to study psychiatry, receiving her diploma in Mental Health Nursing in 1990.

She moved to Lowell, Massachusetts in the fall of 1990. Driven by a desire to help others, she continued her studies at University of Massachusetts. There, she earned an undergraduate degree in nursing in 2005. She moved on to achieve her master’s degree as a Gerontological Nurse Practitioner. In 2007, Tracy received a Post-Masters Certificate in End of Life and Palliative Care. She has extensive education as well as passion for her work.

As a Nurse Practitioner, Tracy has focused primarily on homebound older adults in residences such as Skilled Nursing Facilities, Assisted Living Communities, and individual homes. She continues to pursue her passion for serving the under-represented, fragile and vulnerable elders as founder of First Choice Community Medical Services.

Tracy exemplifies the reasons why our practice is special.  She involves herself with the daily machinations of First Choice. She provides personalized attention for all our patients, ensuring high quality care through her daily efforts. She hand-picked each member of our team to reflect her values. She holds each of us to her high standards of compassion and care.

James D. Tollman, MD, FHM, CMD

Fellow in Hospital Medicine

Dr. James D. Tollman, Co-Founder of First Choice Community Medical Services serves as the collaborating physician, providing medical oversight to the program.

Dr. Tollman has a background in family medicine and internal medicine. He is the founder of Essex Inpatient Physicians, a private medical hospitalist group that focuses on providing high quality care to patients in the communities in which we live. Essex delivers acute and post-acute care services to hospitals, specialty hospitals, and skilled nursing facilities in the northern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire regions.

Prior to founding Essex Inpatient Physicians, Dr. Tollman was a Primary Care Physician with Lahey Clinic. He attended the Tufts University Family Practice Residency program and graduated from the University of Nebraska College of Medicine. He completed his undergraduate B.A. in Biology from Carleton College in Minnesota, and served as an active duty Infantry officer in the U.S. Army for five years.

Providers

Kathleen Kaminski, NP

Kathleen “Kathy” Kaminski is a Nurse Practitioner working with the adult geriatric population as a Primary Care Provider, passionate about making health services available in patients’ homes. Kathy holds a Master’s Degree in Adult Gerontology from Salem State University, graduating with honors.

She is trained in wound care and pain management, knowing that caring for the older adult presents unique challenges. She strives to help her patients by managing their chronic care needs and setting realistic goals that enhance and motivate patients to have good quality of life. Kathy has a passion for helping her patients age in place. She worked as a home care nurse and a hospice nurse for many years before becoming a Nurse Practitioner. Kathy found transitioning to a Primary Care Provider in patients’ homes was a natural progression for her. Kathy loves all sports, especially baseball, she golfs and gardens and, most importantly, loves spending time with her family.

 

Janine Jones, MSN, ANP-BC

Janine Jones started her academic career studying chemistry and biology, but soon realized her real passion is caring for others. She transitioned from working with test tubes to helping people by becoming a nurse. 

While working in the hospital, she started managing all aspects of patient care in a variety of different inpatient settings. After receiving her Master of Science in Nursing from Simmons College in 2010, Janine transitioned from her position as Lead Clinical Nurse at a hospital, where she acted as a clinical resource for nurses and other essential staff members, to a Nurse Practitioner. Janine is familiar with the challenges of Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia having worked with older adults in Assisted Living, Long Term Care and Skilled Nursing Facilities for more than 6 years before joining First Choice Community. Janine loves spending time with her husband and two children, Carter and Payton, as well as their two Ragdoll kitties, Hershey and Nestle.

 

Emily Robinson, MSN, FNP-BC

Emily Robinson, MSN, FNP-BC obtained her bachelor’s degree in sociology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst before pursuing a career in nursing.

She became a registered nurse in 2014 and cared for elders with psychiatric illnesses at a rest home in Boston, serving as the interim director of nursing for the facility while completing her graduate degree. Since graduating from Simmons College in 2016 with a Master of Science in Nursing, Emily has worked as a family nurse practitioner in a variety of settings. After working in urgent care and primary care in a federally qualified community health center, Emily returned to her passion for caring for elders. Prior to joining the team at First Choice in 2021, Emily served for four years as the primary nurse practitioner for a skilled nursing facility, caring for long-term independent, nursing home, and memory care residents, along with patients admitted for short-term rehabilitation. Emily is experienced in caring for elders of very advanced age and in bringing compassionate, comprehensive primary care to patients in their home settings. Emily has a particular passion for palliative and hospice care, guiding patients and their families in decisions around goals of care and providing support at end of life. It is a priority for Emily to create open lines of communication with patients and their families and to support their goals for health and quality of life.

 

Jaclin Morrison, MS, AGNP

Jaclin Morrison received her Adult Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner degree from Salem State University in 2019. Since 2004 she has been working in various clinical settings caring for the older adult.

Jaclin’s practicum was with First Choice Community Medical Services, as well as working with experienced Urological Nurse Practitioners. She is a wound care specialist and worked in a wound care clinic for many years. There, she excelled beyond proficiency at caring for wounds, acquainting herself with the minutia; identifying preventative measures to be taken to avert skin breakdown and to maintain skin integrity. Jaclin’s strengths are complementary to the needs of the older adult, especially important for patients with degrees of stasis in order to prevent bedsores and other problems.

 

Stephanie Ponte, AGNP-BC

A graduate of the Master’s Degree Nursing program at the University of Massachusetts Boston, Stephanie Ponte became an ANCC board-certified Adult Geriatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner in 2016.

She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing from Salem State University. She practiced as a Registered Nurse both inpatient at Beverly Hospital, as well as outpatient as a Visiting Nurse in Assisted Living communities. She chose Geriatrics as her primary care specialty because of her compassion for the elderly, and her desire to understand and ameliorate the chronic conditions that affect their daily lives. Stephanie is dedicated to building strong working relationships with patients and their families through communication and respect. She prides herself on providing comprehensive, evidence-based care. Stephanie holds several certifications that bolster her areas of expertise. For example, as a certified Pain Resource Nurse, the exposition of different aspects of pain management are interspersed in her conversations with her patients and their families.

 

Hannah Ramos, CNP

The beginning of Hannah’s journey to becoming a Nurse Practitioner began on the unlikely path of being a middle school science teacher. She was drawn to science at a young age, winning multiple science awards and honors throughout her middle and high school career. 

After graduating Westfield State University, she became a 7th grade science teacher at Melrose Middle School. The first year was challenging in part because she was new and staff continuously stopped her in the halls, requesting to view her “hall pass” under the assumption she was a culpable student and not a teacher. After working there for two years and volunteering for a hospice organization, she decided her heart was in health care. She enrolled in nursing school at Regis College. Upon graduating with her bachelors in nursing, she landed a job at Norwood Hospital as a cardiac/telemetry nurse. Several years later, once the COVID-19 pandemic struck, her cardiac floor became the designated COVID unit for the hospital. Hannah worked in the COVID units at the peak of the pandemic while finishing her master’s degree at Regis as an Adult-Gerontological Nurse Practitioner. In her spare time, Hannah enjoys sports and most of her life coached and played basketball. In addition to playing basketball, she played singles tennis and volleyball for her high school. Hannah enjoys traveling and spent a semester in Florence, Italy. She speaks rudimentary Italian and Portuguese having spent many summers in the Azores Islands -an autonomous part of Portugal. Hannah also enjoys cooking, nature, reading, and playing with her perfect pup, Daisy.

 

Stephanie Perry, AGNP-C

In Stephanie’s middle school yearbook, her future career says nurse practitioner. Stephanie has been in the healthcare field since high school when she became a medical assistant at Greater Lowell Technical High School.

She continued her education to become a registered nurse through the University of Massachusetts Lowell and received her bachelor’s degree. While in college, Stephanie worked as a nursing assistant at Lahey Hospital and Medical Center to gain bedside experience. After graduating college, Stephanie worked as a registered nurse at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital on the neurology medical/surgical and step down units before transferring to Anna Jaques Hospital medical/surgical units. Stephanie received her master’s degree at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and her Adult-Gerontological Nurse Practitioner certification through the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP). She is continuing her education within the Doctorate of Nursing Practice program through the University of Massachusetts Lowell. When Stephanie isn’t working or doing schoolwork, she enjoys taking care of her plants and a good cup of coffee. She also loves traveling and spending time with family and friends!

 

 

Joan MacLauchlan
Director of Clinical Services

Joan has been a Licensed Practical Nurse for over 10 years. Due to her knowledge and compassion, she quickly became a Resident Care Director in Assisted Living, continuing in that role for approximately 10 years.

Her role as Director of Clinical Services is comprehensive. Joan oversees the records for new and existing patients, assists with labs and Annual Wellness Visits. She disentangles the Nurse Practitioners from the time-consuming process of combing through the previous PCP records that we request for every patient, making certain the information is organized and easily accessible.

She also works with our NPs to help with efficient organization methods. Her ability to navigate and assess the limits of the Assisted Living Facilities where our patients reside benefits the functionality of our practice.

 

 

 

Administration Team

Elizabeth Tierney
Director of Operations

Justine Deemie, CNA
Director of Administrative Services

Join Our Team

To join the First Choice Community Medical team:

We have a collegian work environment and look forward to talking with you about what you can add to our organization!

We’re always looking for dedicated and compassionate individuals to help out.  Call us at (978) 290-4646 X114 to inquire about open positions or your qualifications and ambitions.