Holly Bernal, RN, MSN, NP

Holly Bernal, (español) a San Francisco native and mother of 2 has been a registered nurse for nearly 20 years and is an expert in infant development.   She graduated in 1991 with her Bachelor’s in Nursing from San Francisco State University.  From there she worked for 4 years at Children’s Hospital in Oakland in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.  She then spent several years at Regional Center of the East Bay in the Early Start Program as the High Risk Infant Nurse Specialist, working with preemies and families who were getting ready for that transition home.  While there she went back to school, obtaining her Master’s degree in 1999 from UCSF as a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner.  Having found a love of working in the community, she took a position in Home Health at Stanford University Medical Center and quickly transitioned to the High Risk Infant Follow-up clinic (now know at the Developmental and Behavioral Unit) at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford.  There she worked as the Clinic Coordinator for several years, helping families connect to local resources and programs for their infants.  In 2006, Holly took a position with Blind Babies Foundation, as a Vision Impairment Specialist, doing what is at her heart.  Visiting infants with visual impairments and special needs at their homes and assisting the families during this most exciting time in their lives.  Holly has also recently completed her certification as a lactation consultant.  Holly continues to work at as a staff nurse at Lucile Packard Hospital part time to keep her skills up and enjoys that aspect of her work as well.  Holly continues to experience the best of both worlds, community and hospital.