Education:
Doctor of Nursing Practice-LSU Health Sciences, New Orleans, LA Master of Nursing-Northwestern State University, Natchitoches, LA
Bachelors of Nursing-University of Louisiana-Monroe, Monroe, LA
Certification:
ANCC Board Certified Family Nurse Practitioner WOCNB Board Certified Foot Care Nurse
NRCME Certified CDL Medical Examiner
Biography:
Dr. Griffin is a 4th generation resident of Caldwell Parish and a 1998 graduate of Caldwell Parish High School. She attended the University of Louisiana Monroe graduating with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree in 2002 and started her career as a young medical-surgical Registered Nurse in rural Montana. After several years in the Rocky Mountains she returned home to Louisiana in 2005 and worked in home health, emergency, and medical-surgical nursing while pursuing a Master of Science degree at Northwestern State University where she graduated, with honors, in 2008. Upon graduation she began working at Citizens Rural Clinic in Columbia, Louisiana as a Family Nurse Practitioner alongside her father, Dr. Russell Cummings, General Surgeon. After recognizing a gap in healthcare access in her community, she developed a preventive diabetic foot program that affords a much-needed service to area diabetics and those at high risk for foot complications; the first program of that kind in our area.
Dr. Griffin obtained her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from Louisiana State University in 2013 and was chosen as the top Sigma Theta Tau Honor graduate by her faculty. Her scholarly project was “Effective Strategies for Facilitating the Adoption of a Clinical Practice Guideline for the Diabetic Foot, by Primary Care Providers”. She continues to serve as a frequent preceptor to aspiring Registered Foot Care Nurses and Family Nurse Practitioners. She is a member of the Louisiana Association of Nurse Practitioners and the Sigma Theta Tau National Honor Society for Nurses. She holds certifications as a Family Nurse Practitioner through the American Nurses Credentialing Center, as a Certified Medical Examiner for Commercial Driver Exams through the National Motor Safety Administration, and as a Certified Foot Care Nurse through the Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nursing Board.
Her role as a rural Family Nurse Practitioner is managing acute and chronic illness, promoting health, and offering preventive interventions for patients of all ages. Dr. Griffin is married to Timothy Griffin, they reside in their hometown of Columbia and have three children. They enjoy spending time with their church family, hunting, fishing, and working outdoors with their horses and cattle. She feels very blessed to live in her hometown and to serve the families of her local rural communities with quality healthcare.
