Two Best Friends Join Forces With an Expert Team to Treat Local Women

Danielle Reed-Chaney, NP, and Kasie Jenkins, NP, met in nursing school and became fast friends, bonding over study sessions. When Reed-Chaney got a job in a hospital labor and delivery department after graduation, she persuaded Jenkins to come on board, too. They stayed in the field for nearly two decades.

The pair say they were happy helping families bring their newborns into the world, but Jenkins knew that Reed-Chaney had dreamt of continuing her education and becoming a nurse practitioner. Together, they resolved to return to school.

Just like their first time in school, Jenkins and Reed-Chaney were glad to have a friend to rely on during the intensive education process for their nurse practitioner licensure, which included graduate school, clinical rotations, and a national board certification exam.

When they finished, they were invited to join Rebecca Rivera, MD, and Elva Lopez, MD, who had recently opened an Adventist Health OB-GYN practice in Bakersfield. They had known Drs. Rivera and Lopez for years, having worked with them in labor and delivery, so they knew it was the right step. “Plus,” Reed-Chaney says, “they have been best friends since college, just like we have.”

Working with the women’s health team at Adventist Health has been a beneficial learning experience as Reed-Chaney and Jenkins settle in as nurse practitioners under Drs. Rivera and Lopez. “They’re such good teachers, and they genuinely care about helping us become great in this role,” Jenkins says. “And having Danielle there with me has been amazing. We share an office, so we can bounce questions off one another and support each other.”

The pair say they are honored to provide care in Kern County, where women’s health services are in short supply and high demand. “To be able to provide for these women and treat them with respect is an honor,” Reed-Chaney says. “I feel like I’m giving back to my community, and it fills my heart.”

Adventist Health Bakersfield is the only Blue Distinction Center+ for maternity care in the Central Valley. This achievement, awarded by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, recognizes medical centers that consistently deliver high-quality, safe, and efficient maternity care. Adventist Health Bakersfield performs fewer episiotomies (an incision to widen the vaginal opening during birth), and has a lower rate of cesarean births than other hospitals.

To schedule a visit with one of our OB-GYN providers, call 661-241-6700, press 2 for specialty care, then press 9 for OB-GYN.