Nurse Practitioners

  • Bonnie OwensBonnie Owens, CRNP

    Bonnie was the first Nurse Practitioner to work at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh. She has helped “pave the way” for nurse practitioners to have the ability to work in specialty areas where once this was not an option.

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  • Cheryl ReinhartCheryl Reinhart, MSN, FNP-C, ENP

    Since 2002 HeartFirst has been proud to have Cheryl on our team. She received her undergraduate degree in Nursing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Shortly after graduating she joined the Navy and was on active duty for 6 years.

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  • Carol BjorkmanCarol Bjorkman, MS, RN, FNP-C

    Carol joined Heart First after completing a Master of Science degree as a Family Nurse Practitioner from Texas Woman’s University. While attending school, she worked as a school nurse at Trinity Christian Academy.

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  • Lelia NicholsLelia Nichols, FNP-C

    Lee joins Heart First after completing a Master of Science degree as a Family Nurse Practitioner from Baylor University.

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  • Michelle McCarleyMichelle McCarley RN, ACNP-BC

    Michelle is the newest mid-level to the team, joining in 2010. Michelle completed her Master of Science degree as an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner from University of Texas at Arlington.

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Physician Assistant

  • Elizabeth GlynnElizabeth Glynn, MS, PA-C

    Elizabeth joins HeartFirst after moving back to Texas from Chicago. Although a Texas native, Elizabeth attended the Physician Assistant program at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in North Chicago, Illinois.

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Bonnie Owens, CRNP

Many times in Bonnie’s life it seems as though she has been there from the very beginning. She was one of the first Nurse Practitioners to graduate from the University of Pittsburg. She has worked with the pioneers in the field of heart catheterization and coronary by-pass surgery. She was the first Nurse Practitioner to work at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh. She has helped “pave the way” for nurse practitioners to have the ability to work in specialty areas where once this was not an option. Initially they were trained to work in remote areas that had no physicians available. This profession has evolved considerably and she feels proud to have been a significant part of that process.

About Bonnie Owens

Bonnie has spent more than thirty years working in this chosen field. More than half of that time has been here in Dallas with Dr. Rellas. Together they established a schedule where she was able to raise her twins while continuing to work in her profession. There were many adjustments made to accommodate everyone’s needs in the office. Incidentally, her twins are now both medical students at Georgetown and are carrying on the family tradition of healthcare professionals.

She feels most grateful for all the understanding and flexibility shown by Dr. Rellas. He has always been a visionary. He knew they had a good thing going with the practice and he was right! They now have five Nurse Practitioners in the clinic and it has continued to grow and thrive considerably just as they have… from the very beginning.

Cheryl Reinhart, MSN, FNP-C, ENP

Since 2002 HeartFirst has been proud to have Cheryl on our team. She received her undergraduate degree in Nursing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Shortly after graduating she joined the Navy and was on active duty for 6 years. Cheryl spent many years in the Navy Reserves and was called into active duty during Desert Storm. Currently she is in the inactive reserves with the rank of Commander.

About Cheryl Reinhart

Cheryl graduated from her first Master’s program from UT-Austin with a clinical specialty degree in medical-surgical nursing, and a minor in education. She worked in the Intensive Care units and Emergency Room at Baylor-Irving for many years and taught classes to newly hired nurses on multiple topics. In 2002 she graduated from TWU as a Family Nurse Practitioner and went to work with Dr. Rellas here at HeartFirst. In 2007 Cheryl graduated from UT-Arlington with an Emergency Nurse Practitioner certificate.

The opportunity to meet and serve people is what Cheryl loves most about her job. She enjoys all aspects of cardiovascular care, but has a passion for educating and helping women with heart disease. She feels education and prevention of risk factors will significantly decrease heart disease. Cheryl also loves to work with patients on weight loss issues and cholesterol management.

Cheryl has two living children, Brian who recently graduated from Purdue University and Bethany who is a sophomore at the University of Oklahoma in the pre-Nursing program. She and her two children have made more than 5 trips to the Amazon for medical mission trips. Cheryl loves to do mission work and hopes to go on more trips to other areas of the world.

Cheryl enjoys working out, reading, walking her dogs, scrapbooking, and visiting with friends, but most of all she loves any time spent with her 2 children.

Carol Bjorkman, MS, RN, FNP-C

Carol joined Heart First after completing a Master of Science degree as a Family Nurse Practitioner from Texas Woman’s University. While attending school, she worked as a school nurse at Trinity Christian Academy. Prior to going back to graduate school, she spent twenty years working in various intensive care environments, including a burn ICU, a cardiovascular ICU, a medical ICU, and a pediatric ICU. She has served as a nurse preceptor, a charge nurse, a nurse researcher for the National Registry of Myocardial Infarctions trial, and as the critical care representative on the hospital nurse peer review committee. She has always loved working with cardiac patients and their families. Carol enjoys working with the heart failure patients who are managed at Heart First. She finds this aspect of her job particularly challenging and rewarding.

About Carol Bjorkman

Carol has affiliations with North Texas Nurse Practitioners, Texas Nurse Practitioners, the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners and Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. She is currently serving on the board of Texas Nurse Practitioners as the recording secretary.

She and her husband George, along with their three children reside in Plano. She enjoys volunteer work in her spare time; most recently she has working with Dallas Ramps assisting with building wheelchair ramps for homebound individuals. Two of the most memorable things she has done include traveling to Kenya with her one of her son’s on a service project/mission trip and then to the Amazon with her other son on a medical/mission trip.

Lelia Nichols, FNP-C

Lee joins Heart First after completing a Master of Science degree as a Family Nurse Practitioner from Baylor University. She was the recipient of the 2008 North Texas Nurse Practitioner Scholarship as well as the 2008 Texas Nurse Practitioner Foundation Alasia Daple Scholarship. While attending Baylor, Lee worked as a graduate assistant and as a part-time nurse in the Stroke Unit at Baylor University Medical Center. Prior to moving to Dallas in 2007, Lee worked as a nurse in the Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. Lee received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Georgetown University.

About Lelia Nichols

Lee has affiliations with North Texas Nurse Practitioners, Texas Nurse Practitioners, American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, and Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.

Lee was raised in both Nashville and Houston, and after 7 years in the Northeast she is happy to be back in Texas once again. She and her husband live in Dallas, where she is an active member in the Junior League. She enjoys spending her time volunteering, reading, exercising, and playing with her four adorable nephews. She is excited to be at Heart First and looks forward to taking care of you.

Michelle McCarley RN, ACNP-BC

Michelle is the newest mid-level to the team, joining in 2010. Michelle completed her Master of Science degree as an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner from University of Texas at Arlington. While attending UT Arlington, Michelle worked as a registered nurse at The Heart Hospital Baylor Plano in the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit. Prior to moving back to McKinney where she grew up, she worked as nurse at UT Southwestern in the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit. Michelle received her Bachelor of Science from Texas Tech University.

About Michelle McCarley

Michelle has affiliations with North Texas Nurse Practitioners, Texas Nurse Practitioners, American Academy of Critical Care Nurses, and Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society for Nursing. She was also certified as Critical Care Registered Nurse.

Michelle was born in raised in Texas, mostly growing up in McKinney and moving off to Lubbock for school then Dallas immediately after. She and her husband now live in McKinney where they just recently welcomed their newest addition, a daughter. She enjoys mission trips through her church, skiing, and traveling.

Elizabeth Glynn, MS, PA-C

Elizabeth joins HeartFirst after moving back to Texas from Chicago. Although a Texas native, Elizabeth attended the Physician Assistant program at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in North Chicago, Illinois. After completing a national board exam for certification, she began practice in cardiology. Elizabeth also has experience in gastroenterology and internal medicine. She has practiced and is comfortable in a clinic, hospital, and nursing home setting.

About Elizabeth Glynn

Elizabeth has affiliations with the American Academy of Physician Assistants and the Texas Academy of Physician Assistants. She plans on becoming more involved in these organizations as she gets established here in Texas. She is active on keeping up with her continuing medical education through conferences, journal readings and lectures.

Elizabeth was born and raised in Plano, Texas. She received a bachelor’s degree from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio. In her spare time, Elizabeth enjoys reading, running, volunteering, and spending time with her family and friends. She is excited to be back in her home state and practicing in her first love of cardiology.