Physician Assistants & Nurse Practitioners

Patricia Campbell, NP

After graduating from Ball State University in 1990 with a master’s in nursing, Patricia Campbell earned a family nurse practitioner post-masters certificate in 1996 from Indiana Wesleyan University. Prior to joining the RediMed team in 1997, Campbell worked in home health, mental health and emergency care.

Lorraine Conklin, PA

Before joining RediMed in 1997, Lorraine Conklin graduated with distinction from Lutheran College of Health Professionals as a physician assistant. She earned her undergraduate degree in biology from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Mich., in 1981 and a medical technology certification from the Parkview Hospital School of Medical Technology in 1990. Conklin, who has worked as a medical technologist and a cardiovascular technician, is a member of the American Academy of Physician Assistants. She enjoys reading, football, gardening and Little League Baseball in her spare time.

Ramona Hurd, PA

A former veterinary and laboratory technician and nursing aide, Hurd earned a bachelor’s in physician assistance in 1997 from Fort Wayne’s Lutheran College of Health Professionals. She also earned a bachelor’s from the University of Wisconsin in 1981.

Hurd, who joined the RediMed team in 1998, is a member of the American Academy of Physician Assistants and is CPR, ACLS and first aid certified.

Karen Orr, PA

Before moving to Fort Wayne, Karen Orr resided in Seattle, Wash., where she was a personal trainer, a physical therapy aide and a medical assistant. Karen earned a bachelor's degree in exercise physiology from Seattle Pacific University in 1988, and in 1999, she earned a bachelor's in physician assistance from the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne. She is a member of the American Academy of Physician Assistants and the Washington Academy of Physician Assistants, and she is certified by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants. Karen, who is also CPR certified, joined the RediMed team in 1999.

Jerry Parsons, PA

After obtaining an associate degree in 1994 from Kettering College of Medical Arts in Kettering, Ohio, Jerry Parsons worked as a physician assistant with Fort Wayne Orthopedics, Orthopedics Indianapolis and the Emergency Medicine Group of Indianapolis. He also earned a bachelor’s in athletic training from Ball State University in 1990. He was also an assistant professor at Butler University and an athletic trainer at St. Elizabeth Sports Medicine Center in Dayton, Ohio, and an assistant athletic trainer at Centerville High School, in Centerville, Ohio.

Parsons, who joined RediMed in 1999, is a member of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, the Indiana Academy of Physician Assistants and the National Athletic Trainers Association. In his spare time, Parsons enjoys water-skiing, snow-skiing, basketball, and volleyball.

James Perry, PA

James Perry joined the RediMed team in 2005 as a physician assistant. Perry earned a bachelor’s in economics from the University of California-Los Angeles in 1986, a master’s in biomedical technology and management from Salve Regina University in Newport, R.I. in 1994 and a bachelor’s in physician assistance from D’Youville College in Buffalo, N.Y. in 1999.

Perry, who has two daughters, enjoys weightlifting and traveling in his spare time.

Samuel Shorter, PA

Before joining RediMed in 1995, Shorter worked as an assistant professor and a clinical coordinator in the physician assistant department at Western Michigan University. He also worked as a physician assistant consultant at Veterans Administration Medical Center in Battle Creek, Mich., and as a physician assistant at the Howe Medical Center in Howe, Ind., and at Family Physicians Inc., in Angola and Lagrange.

Shorter earned a certificate of completion in the physician assistance program at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne in 1975, a bachelor’s in general studies at Indiana University-South Bend in 1980 and a master’s in educational leadership from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo in 1984. Shorter also served in the United States Army Medical Corps as an independent duty medic in the Republic of South Korea.

Laura Speidel, PA

Laura Spiedel, who joined the RediMed team in 2001, graduated summa cum laude from Wisconsin Lutheran College with a bachelor’s in biology and a minor in Spanish in 1998. She earned a master’s in physician assistant studies from Finch University of Health Sciences/The Chicago Medical School in 2000.

Prior to joining RediMed, Speidel worked as a certified nursing assistant, a biology and chemistry lab assistant and an instructor/clinical coordinator. Speidel, who is a member of the American Academy of Physician Assistants and the Indiana Academy of Physician Assistants, spent the summer of 1997 in Monterry, NL Mexico, where she took Spanish conversation and Latin American culture courses at the Instituto Technologico De Estudios Superiores De Mexico.