New nurse practitioner Vilija Abrute joins Adventist Health staff

Abrute was born in Lithuania. She moved to the United States on a student program when she was 19 to attend the University of Illinois at Chicago. She earned her Bachelor of Science in nursing and returned to Lithuania.

She was so impressed with the school system and the selection of universities in the United States that she returned to earn her Master of Science in the Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program at the University of Illinois.

Before becoming a nurse practitioner, Abrute was a registered nurse at the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System’s neurosurgery and neurology intensive care unit, which is ranked No. 1 in the state for treating the most aneurysm cases. There, she gained experience in aneurysm bypass, neurosurgical oncology and spine surgery.

“The ICU is a very fast-paced environment with patients who are very sick,” says Abrute. “I realized I knew enough to be their nurse, but I wanted to learn more so I could better treat them, which is why I decided to become a nurse practitioner.”

Abrute is fluent in English, Lithuanian and Russian. She is married and has a 1-year-old child. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, hiking and running marathons.

The Spine & Pain Center is located in Suite 305 of the three-story Kerr Outpatient Center at 470 N. Greenfield Avenue in Hanford. More information about the center is available by calling 559-537-0325 or visiting www.AHSpineCenter.com.