Anna Maria McGehean, APN

Anna Maria McGehean has worked in urgent care, imaging and the emergency room. She was also a travel nurse and gave thousands of COVID shots in AtlantiCare’s vaccine megasite at the Atlantic City Convention Center.
With that background, she could have chosen any specialty as a nurse practitioner. But her passion for the elderly drew her to palliative care – helping people with long-term disease live their best lives, despite physical limitations.
“My whole life, I have always wanted to help others, the reason I became a nurse,” she explains. “And I have always loved my elderly patients. I treat them like my own grandparents. They’re easy to talk to and they’re always excited to see me,” she says.
Part of the AtlantiCare family since 2001, Anna Maria is board-certified as an adult gerontology nurse practitioner by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. She earned her master’s at Stockton University, Pomona; her bachelor’s at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Camden; and her RN at Our Lady of Lourdes School of Nursing, also in Camden. She is a graduate of Atlantic Cape Community College.
“I get to help people optimize their quality of life. The goal of palliative care is to help them live well and spend quality time with friends and family,” she says.
Every plan is custom-tailored to each patient’s unique needs. She says every patient becomes a key member of the team, working with their providers to stay out of the hospital. “I get to manage their illness and comfort them. I also work hard to lift their spirits. I count every smile as a personal victory,” she says.