Wheeler’s third annual residency class brings together four clinicians whose experience spans multiple countries, care settings, and specialties. Their backgrounds add a wide range of clinical perspectives to Wheeler’s community-based health center care.
Wheeler’s innovative residency program for nurse practitioners and physician assistants is designed to cultivate clinical leaders in community health. Its two tracks, primary care and psychiatry, provide high-quality, patient-centered training and mentoring in Wheeler’s Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) and programs across the state.
The program was developed over three years internally by a team of Wheeler leaders from health center administration, human resources, marketing, nursing, primary care, psychiatry, and quality. Its first class graduated in August 2025.
"Each year, we’re finding increasingly impressive backgrounds in our applications to become residents at Wheeler," said Rebecca Eleck-Bruce, MD, Wheeler’s primary care medical director. "Today, it’s vital that dedicated, skilled practitioners choose community-based care, helping us to address, and new providers to understand, the role that the social determinants of health affect the care that they’ll provide through their careers."
"Year after year, we’ve learned so much from our residents, and I know we will this year as well," said Michael Twist, DO, Wheeler’s psychiatric medical director. "It’s the perfect approach to help build the skills of tomorrow’s leading providers, bring in new approaches and perspectives to our continuum of care, and provide hands-on expertise to help serve our communities best.”
The residents are all already licensed to provide care, but the residency supports and empowers them through additional training to become competent, patient-centered clinical practitioners who will make a meaningful impact in Connecticut’s communities most at risk and in need of accessible, high-quality health care.
Wheeler's residents engage in a wide variety of activities throughout the program, including specialty clinics, mentor clinics, didactic sessions, and administration. Specialty clinics include pediatrics, addiction medicine, psychiatry/behavioral health, gender-responsive care, SPRAVATO® (esketamine) therapy for treatment-resistant depression, TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation) for highly effective treatment of depression and anxiety without use of medication, mobile health care in the community, and more.
MEET OUR RESIDENTS
Jamie C, MSN, APRN, PMHNP-C
Working in nursing leadership in adult medicine and completing clinical course work in psychiatry at Wheeler during graduate school, Jamie brings a wide range of settings and experience to the residency. She is a graduate of Sacred Heart University.
“Completing clinical course work at Wheeler has allowed me the opportunity to further explore how social circumstances impact mental and physical health, and to recognize the need for equitable care. Throughout this experience, I have witnessed how income, housing, and education impact health outcomes, and the importance of providing fair and socially informed care.”
Bridget Claflin, MS, MSN, APRN, PMHNP-BC
Combining published research in psychiatry with academic success at the Yale School of Nursing and Fordham University, Bridget also has extensive experience in nursing rotations in schools, children’s healthcare, and inpatient psychiatric settings.
“The Wheeler Residency Program stood out for me for a number of reasons including the fact that Wheeler Health is a local leader in community-based healthcare, offering integrated services to populations that are traditionally underserved. Working and learning in an environment that has a person-centered integrated approach to medical and social care is very important. A patient might finally seek mental health services if they are in crisis while never having seen a dentist or rarely seeing a primary care provider. Our traditional siloed approach to health and social care does not work for people without means. Wheeler’s mission aligns well with my long-term goal to work in community healthcare as a provider and future advocate.”
Brianne Jimenez, PA-C
Graduating from the University of Bridgeport, and with more than four years of experience as an EMT providing first aid and basic life support, Brianne also has experience in hospital settings providing quality primary care.
“My interest in pursuing this primary care residency is strongly driven by a desire to bridge gaps in access to quality primary care. While shadowing a primary care PA and witnessing first-hand how this provider interacted with his patients and the trust they had in him made me realize this was the type of relationship I would one day hope to have with my patients. To be able to care not only for the patient's physical health, but also their overall well-being.”
Enia Zigbuo-Wenzler, PhD, MPH, MSN, APRN, FNP-C
Dr. Zigbuo-Wenzler brings more than 20 years of nursing experience across Liberia, Germany, and the United States, along with a background in research and academia. She earned her PhD from the University of South Carolina, where her dissertation focused on developing and validating screening instruments to assess barriers to dietary practices.
““My commitment to underserved populations connects my clinical experience in post-war Liberia with my life today as a resident of Hartford’s Asylum Hill neighborhood. In Liberia, I managed acute and chronic conditions in a resource-limited setting where distance and cost often stood between patients and care. That experience shaped my commitment to culturally responsive, community-centered care and making health care more accessible.”