Sandra T. Kelley, MSN, APRN

Ms. Kelley earned a BSN from Indiana University in South Bend, Indiana. While an undergraduate, she was inducted into the Alpha Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau.

Her nursing career began in Pediatric ICU at Memorial Hospital in South Bend, Indiana. While working at the Navy Hospital in Naples, Italy, she was exposed to many nurses preparing for graduate school to further their careers as Nurse Practitioners. After returning to Kentucky, she earned an APRN degree from the University of Kentucky College of Nursing from the Family Practice Nurse Practitioner program.

She then joined the Samaritan Nursing Center, under the leadership of Dr. Marcia Stanhope, that provided primary care in several free clinics including the Hope Center, Post Clinic, Baby Health, and at several schools in Fayette County.

With the help of Dr. Stanhope, she developed and opened the Health Clinic at the Women’s Hope Center on Versailles Road in Lexington. She continued to work with the Samaritan Nursing Center, however, her primary responsibility was working with the women at the Women’s Hope Center. She knew working with women struggling in their battle with the disease of addiction was her mission. Her work at the Hope Center built a strong foundation in the disease of addiction. She was given the opportunity to participate in SAMHSA’s Women’s Addiction Services Leadership Institute. Eventually, she was given an opportunity to become more involved in the use of medication for treatment of opioid use disorders.

As Director of Clinical Services at Recovery Works Georgetown, she saw the difference that Buprenorphine and Naltrexone were making in the lives of individuals with moderate to severe opioid use disorders. She completed an eight-hour class taught by Dr. Michelle Lofwall on Buprenorphine/Naloxone for the treatment of opioid use disorders.

After Kentucky authorized Nurse Practitioners to prescribe Buprenorphine/Naloxone for the treatment of opioid use disorders, she obtained an x waiver and began a limited group of patients to be offered Medication Assisted Treatment at Recovery Works in an attempt to decrease the number of patient’s leaving AMA. This successfully decreased the AMA rate to 11% in individuals offered the MAT compared to the 20% AMA rate in the rest of the patient population.

She was given the opportunity to work with Dr. Lofwall and Dr. Laura Fanucchi in the First Bridge Clinic and the Addiction Consult Education Services team. They coordinate care for patients admitted to UK Chandler or Samaritan Hospital with an Opioid use disorder. They begin the medication treatment for the opioid use disorder in the hospital, manage that portion of the patient’s care, and refer to them to outside clinics or the First Bridge Clinic upon discharge. She has the privilege of providing Medication for Opioid Use Disorder to patients on an outpatient basis at the First Bridge Clinic.

Her mission of working with individuals battling the disease of addiction continues.