01/25/07, Welcome to Dr. Sunny Nelson

Dr. Sunny Nelson has joined the Community Memorial Hospital Medical Staff and will soon begin her practice at the Morrisville Family Health Center.

A highly-trained physician, Dr. Nelson is a graduate of Brigham Young University, where she majored in psychology and minored in visual studio arts. She went on to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center for her M.D. and completed her residency training at Oregon Health Science University. During the three-year program she gained experience with pediatric and adult patients, prenatal care and rural health care.

Dr. Nelson also completed a medical rotation in Delhi, India, worked in a tertiary care center in Guatemala and has volunteered in Ecuadorian hospitals and clinics. She has lent her considerable energies to helping children, women and the homeless.

"Community Memorial is extremely pleased to welcome Dr. Sunny Nelson," said Hospital President and CEO David W. Felton. "She has a remarkable academic background and her varied experiences are an indication of her strong interest in providing care and helping people flourish. And her disposition matches her name. I am certain the people of Morrisville are in good hands."

"I feel strongly that primary care is important," reports Dr. Nelson, "and I believe in providing medicine that is accessible to everyone. I've felt welcomed here and have been comfortable the whole time. I look forward to seeing patients and building continuous relationships with them."

Dr. Nelson joins Dr. Mark Ohl and the staff of the Morrisville Family Health Center located on South Street near the Morrisville State campus and Crouse Community Center.

Dr. Nelson is a native of Texas, where she grew up in Odessa and attended Periman High, the school that gained nationwide attention thanks to 'Friday Night Lights,' the best selling book, movie and television series about high school football. Even with the western slant to her resume, she has a Central New York connection.

"Apparently, I have an ancestor named Ransom who lived and died in Hamilton in 1821 and is buried here."

In addition to researching her family tree, Dr. Nelson enjoys the outdoors ("I'll get to ride my bike"), has a potter's wheel, draws, paints – "all kinds of dabbling" – and is trying to learn guitar and improve her Spanish. She and her husband Dan, a Syracuse University administrator, who coordinates research projects for the Maxwell School, live in Hamilton.