Our Fellows

Ariel Brugger, MPAS, PA-C

Bio: Ariel grew up in Orlando, FL. After graduating from Bradford College in Massachusetts, Ariel met her husband on a walk to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of WWII that began at Auschwitz and ended at Hiroshima. After this journey, they settled in Brattleboro, Vermont where she began working in restorative justice. After many years in that field, Ariel chose to pursue her other passion by attending U W Madison in physician assistant studies and eventually started working as a PA in the Emergency Department where she stayed for 4 years. She loves living in southern Vermont where she enjoys cycling and kayaking when the weather is warm.

Palliative care motivation: After working in emergency medicine for 4 years where there was little time to have meaningful conversations about life changing diagnosis, Ariel started to consider a career switch to palliative care. She soon discovered that palliative care was the perfect field to combine her medical expertise with her previous experience in restorative justice. In her work in palliative care, she found her passion in helping facilitate effective communication so that patients can make empowered and informed decisions about their health care.

Bradley Eckert, MD, MS

Education:

• Medical school: Northeast Ohio Medical University (Cleveland, Ohio)
• Graduate school: The George Washington University (Washington, DC)
• Residency: Family Medicine, Summa Health (Akron, Ohio)

Bio: A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Bradley studied art history at Case Western Reserve University before moving to Washington, D.C. for graduate school at The George Washington University where he studied health policy. Subsequently, Bradley worked for several years at the Institute of Medicine and was involved in a variety of public health projects, including childhood obesity prevention, health information technology, emergency preparedness, and firearm violence. He also served as Research Associate on the Institute of Medicine’s 2014 report Dying in America: Improving quality and honoring individual preferences near the end of life, which not only ignited his interest in becoming a physician, but also his journey into hospice and palliative care. He returned to his hometown and earned a MD from Northeast Ohio Medical University and completed a residency in Family Medicine at Summa Health in Akron, Ohio, where he served as Chief Resident.

Palliative care motivation: He is especially interested in health policy, narrative medicine, expanding access to outpatient palliative care, and caring for patients with substance use disorders. He is looking forward to hiking the many amazing mountains and trails in Northern New England with his partner, Jamey, and their 2 Labrador retrievers, Jack and Teddy.

Stephanie Krasinski, DNP, AGPCNP-BC, BSN

Education

• New York University, BS Hospitality & Tourism
• University of Saint Joseph, BS Nursing
• Quinnipiac University, AGNP, DNP

Bio: Stephanie is a Nurse Practitioner raised in New York. She began her career working in financial services and transitioned to nursing. She gained 8 years of experience at Yale New Haven Hospital and Concord Hospital. She continued her studies, becoming a Doctor of Nursing Practice as an Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner working as a Hospitalist in New Hampshire. Outside of healthcare Stephanie enjoys running, hiking, skiing, quality time with her family, playing board games, and building Legos.

Palliative care motivation: Her passion for Palliative Care stems from the need for healthcare professionals to provide the information and structure to meet the changing wishes and goals as illnesses progress. She is excited to pursue the fellowship, which offers an excellent educational and didactic avenue to develop best practices.

Rachel Lovins, MD

Education:

• Medical school: Yale University
• Residency: Yale New Haven Hospital

Bio: Rachel is a native of New Haven Connecticut who lived for a time in Boston and New York, and most recently relocated to Grafton, Vermont. She studied oil painting as an undergraduate and spent several years exploring both art and science before deciding to go to medical school after a friend died of AIDS. Rachel spent a few decades in Hospital Medicine, hospital administration and as teaching faculty. She loves singing and playing music with others, tending to plants and bees, and eating other people’s cooking. She has 3 grown children and spends most of her free time with her husband, cat, and 2 dogs in Vermont.

Palliative Care Motivation: She is excited to return to what brought her to medicine in the first place - palliative care and hospice. Rachel is especially interested in medical ethics, medical education, and humanities and spirituality in medicine.

Lucas Pfeiffer, DO

Education:

• Medical school: Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine
• Residency: Cottage Health

Bio: As lifelong West-Coasters, Lucas and his family are excited to be heading out east to join the team at Dartmouth! Lucas was born and raised in Portland, Oregon and attended the University of Oregon (go Ducks!) for undergrad. Before attending medical school in Washington state, he spent time as a volunteer firefighter, medical assistant, and scribe. After finishing his clinical rotations in rural Oregon, he moved to sunny Santa Barbara for residency in internal medicine. Lucas and his family enjoy all types of outdoor activities, sporting events, and exploring neighboring small towns.

Palliative care motivation: Lucas is looking forward to learning more about how to best serve patients at the end-of-life and taking in everything that the Northeast has to offer.