Lucilla Willingham, APRN, is a board-certified family nurse practitioner working in the Department of Neurosurgery at Greenwich Hospital. Willingham has more than seven years of clinical experience as a registered nurse in emergency medicine and psychiatry.
Willingham believes that the true essence of her profession lies in the relationships she builds with those under her care. She helps to treat spinal conditions that can severely impact a person's quality of life, often robbing them of the ability to walk or participate in their daily routines. “Our mission is to help patients regain their independence and pursue their desired activities,” she says.
Willingham’s health care journey wasn't the path she initially envisioned for herself. She had dreams of becoming a lawyer, but her late mother, saw something else in her daughter. Her mother died of an epidural abscess—an infection that forms between the bones of the skull and the lining of the brain. This loss served as a catalyst, propelling Willingham to redirect her nursing journey from emergency medicine to neurosurgery.
"A neurosurgeon could have helped my mom," she says. “It fuels my determination to leave no stone unturned, ensuring that every patient receives the comprehensive care they truly deserve."
In neurosurgery, Lucilla thrives on the complexity of the cases as she transitions between clinic consultations, inpatient rounds, and the role of assisting her neurosurgeons in intricate spinal procedures. Every day presents new challenges, and she embraces them. "I try to find out at least one thing I have in common with a patient and hold on to that," she says. "And I treat them like they are a member of my family."
