Silvana M. Dasilva, CRNP, MSN

My philosophy is based on the belief that the most powerful healer is unconditional support and trust between a health care practitioner and an individual. The individual is ultimately responsible for their own health and well-being as we support them in the quest for optimal health. The key is balancing physical, spiritual, mental and emotional realms. Health care practitioners share this goal for our patients and for ourselves as we steward through this precious life together.

As a child I read about Clara Barton, an American nurse during the Civil War who founded the American Red Cross. Her heroic work on the battlefields inspired me to go into health care. I became a technical partner for LVHN in 2007 and worked many years in the ER at Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest, becoming an emergency room RN in 2016. I consider myself a lifelong learner, and in 2021 received a master’s degree as a Family Nurse Practitioner. I believe medicine is a sacred mission, a moral enterprise, and I am proud to be a part of it.

I have dedicated hours of service to Spirit Wings Aviation in Easton, Pa., which provided food and supplies via small aircraft to inner cities around the East Coast during the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, I am involved in my church and community with food banks and secondhand stores when I am able.

I love all kinds of food, foreign and domestic; red wines, cooking and crafts. Mostly, I love to do anything outside in all the seasons: hiking, walking, kayaking, swimming, biking and nature trails. My future includes to section hike the Appalachian Trail.