Jennifer Bouchard, Advanced Nurse Practitioner at The Cleveland Clinic, has been appointed to the American Health Council’s Nursing Board. With 30 years within the healthcare industry, including more than 4 years in her current role at the Cleveland Clinic, Ms. Bouchard brings to the American Health Council a wealth of honed expertise in Primary Care, Employee/Occupational Health, and most recently Functional Medicine.

Board-certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, Ms. Bouchard earned her Master’s in Family Practice Nursing from Indiana Wesleyan University in 1996, later graduating with her MS in Public Health from Tulane University in 2005. She became involved within her current profession taking inspiration from her mother, also a nurse. Ms. Bouchard began reading her mother’s medical books as a child, thus honing her early interest in healthcare.

Now at the Cleveland Clinic, Ms. Bouchard sees a need for change in the way we practice medicine and believes in seeking the root causes of disease, viewing the body as an integrated system.  She is currently is working towards certification through the Institute of Functional Medicine working with the Center for Functional Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic.  She is part of the Functioning For Life Program, a robust 10 week educational, disease-focused treatment tracks instituted by the center for Functional medicine, introducing patients to Functional medicine and making an impact on their lives.  These programs specifically focus on Diabetes, Weight Management, Autoimmune Disease, Gastrointestinal problems and Women’s Health.

Among her multitude of accomplishments, Ms. Bouchard prides herself most on having been in many primary care and occupational health settings for more 17 years. She is a member of The Institute for Functional Medicine.

Her goals within the next five years include the continuation of her education and research concerning Functional Medicine. Ms. Bouchard cites being a mother to her two daughters, one a Level 1 Trauma Nurse, the other a Chiropractor, as personal achievements.

In her spare time apart from her career, Ms. Bouchard enjoys traveling, spending time at her lake home, reading, and maintaining an active lifestyle.