Care is provided by a physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant. Nurse practitioners and physician assistants are advanced healthcare providers who work under the direction of a physician. They perform physical exams, diagnose and treat acute problems, order diagnostic tests, and prescribe medications. These clinicians are supported by nurses, counselors, social workers, and lay staff. All of our staff are skilled and dedicated, and love caring for their community.

Lisa M. Taylor, MD, Medical Director
Dr. Taylor is an internal medicine specialist. She is a graduate of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway, NJ. She completed her residency at Christiana Hospital in Wilmington, DE, where she was chief resident.

Dr. Taylor began with the Health Center as a volunteer physician. When it expanded capacity and became a licensed community health center, she joined the staff as Medical Director. In this role, she oversees the delivery of medical care. She also sees patients for their primary care needs.

Dr. Taylor was recently named 2006 Community Clinician of the Year by the Barnstable District Medical Society of the Massachusetts Medical Society.

Ronald Backer, MD
Dr. Backer is an internist/family physician with 33 years of experience in private practice and health administration. He received his medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine and completed his residency training at Mt. Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, MA. He works part-time at the Health Center.

Robert Cohen, MD
Dr. Cohen, who moved to the Cape from Middlebury, Connecticut, is a board certified internist with many years of experience in private practice and in the US Army Medical Corp. He received his undergraduate degree from Union College in Schenectady, NY and his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Bronx Municipal Hospital Center, affiliated with Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and also completed a fellowship in pulmonary medicine.

Anna Hallemeier, MD
Board certified in both internal medicine and pediatrics, Dr. Hallemeier sees adults and pediatric patients. She is particularly interested in working with teens and “helping them make the right behavioral choices that will affect the rest of their lives”. She received her medical degree from Yale University School of Medicine and completed her residency in medicine and pediatrics at Yale-New Haven Hospital in New Haven, CT.

Prior to joining the Health Center, Dr. Hallemeier worked as a pharmaceutical consultant and on the internal medicine faculty at Yale.

John Mancini, DDS
Dr. Mancini is Director of Dental Services. Prior to joining the Health Center he was the dental director at Mid-Upper Cape Community Health Center and the Ellen Jones Community Dental Center in Harwich. He helped to create the Cape Cod Dentists Care program, a voluntary group that provides low-cost dental services to the uninsured. Before moving to the Cape, he created a children’s sealant program and established a dental clinic in Fitchburg, MA. He was also in private practice for 27 years.

Dr. Mancini obtained his dental degree from Georgetown University School of Dentistry.

Allegra McElroy, FNP
Mrs. McElroy is a family nurse practitioner. She is a registered nurse with advanced education and clinical training. She received her nurse practitioner training at Massachusetts General Hospital, Institute of Health Professions, in Boston. Mrs. McElroy’s specialty is family medicine and she sees pediatric and adult patients as part of the Health Center’s Family Care program.

Shane Peters, APRN-BC
Ms. Peters is a family nurse practitioner. She received her undergraduate degree from Providence College, in Rhode Island and obtained a masters degree in nursing and nurse practitioner training at Regis College in Weston, Massachusetts. Prior to joining the Health Center, she was in private practice on Nantucket and also worked with the Nantucket AIDS Network.

Stephanie Prior, MD
Dr. Prior, a family practice physician, has 13 years experience in the community health center setting. She obtained her medical degree from the University of Massachusetts Medical School and received her family practice training at Pawtucket Memorial Hospital in Rhode Island, part of the Brown University Family Medicine Program.

Before joining the Health Center staff in April, 2006, Dr. Prior was in private practice in Bourne. She was also a physician volunteer at the Health Center.

Kenneth Terkelsen, MD
Dr. Terkelsen is a psychiatrist. He is a graduate of Georgetown University and received his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. He completed a residency in psychiatry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Lincoln Hospital and a fellowship in social and community psychology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Bronx Psychiatric Center. Board certified in psychiatry, Dr. Terkelsen has many years of experience in private practice and in community settings on Cape Cod including Gosnold-Thorne Clinics, Cape Cod Human Services/Cape Cod Behavioral Healthcare and the Cape Cod and Islands Community Mental Health Center.

Beth Homand
Ms. Homand, who works with the Falmouth Family Planning program, is certified as an OB/GYN nurse practitioner. She received her bachelor of science in nursing and her nurse practitioner training from Boston College. Prior to the joining the Health Center team, she worked at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates and other Boston–area hospitals.