Lois Waybill Alderfer ’86 named Provider of the Year

Eastern Mennonite University alumna Lois Waybill Alderfer has been named the 2019 Provider of the Year by the Virginia Community Healthcare Association.

A family nurse practitioner and the chief medical officer at Blue Ridge Medical Center (BRMC) in Arrington, Alderfer was recognized as “an outstanding health care provider who has demonstrated dedication, expertise, and concern for their patients in a compassionate and comprehensive manner,” according to an association news release. 

Alderfer earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from EMU in 1986 and received a master of science in nursing degree from the University of Virginia in 1990. She became a certified family nurse practitioner in 1992.

At BRMC for more than 27 years, Alderfer sees the majority of the center’s prenatal and OB-GYN patients. In addition to nurturing, coaching and supporting new staff, she prepared BRMC staff for the center’s accreditation review and ensured that “policies and procedures were in place, improvement cycles were well documented, and the environment of care was compliant with standards,” the release states. “Her work resulted in high marks from reviewers, helping Blue Ridge Medical Center achieve full accreditation.”

She has also overseen and supported a “dramatic expansion” of behavioral health services at BRMC.

“Lois is constantly evaluating new procedures to improve flow efficiency and enhance the patient experience,” said BRMC CEO Randolph Pirtle. “She sets the bar for productivity and leads by example. She embodies integrity, compassion, and trustworthiness with a refreshing sense of humor that brightens the day of the staff and patients at Blue Ridge Medical Center. I am so pleased that she has received public recognition for her work.”

She is married to Steve Alderfer ’86, who also earned nursing and nurse practitioner degrees from EMU and UVA and has worked at BRMC as a nurse practitioner since 2001.

In Virginia, 30 such health centers provide more than a million primary care appointments each year in rural and urban medically underserved areas at 147 service sites, regardless of ability to pay, geographic location, culture, age, gender or religion.