40 Under 40 The Class of 2012

Neil Nordstrom: 37

Practice Manager and Registered Nurse, Pediatric Services of Springfield

Nordstrom-NeilBeing the practice manager of a growing pediatric group — one that started in East Longmeadow in 1983 and added a second location in Wilbraham in 2005 — certainly keeps Neil Nordstrom busy. But he still craves something more.
“I basically run all facets of the business,” he said. “I do accounting, manage the personnel, basically all the day-to-day operations. I help the billers out. And then I’m a registered nurse, so I also help the nurses out. We have people in each department, but I’m the person they see to put out a lot of fires.
“I enjoy all those aspects of running a business. It’s very challenging, but I look forward to coming to work every day,” said Nordstrom, who has also spearheaded technological innovation in the practice, such as incorporating tablet devices in patient care.
What he craves, however, is more interaction with patients — and he’s doing something about it. “I enjoy the kids, and I love pediatrics, so I’m going back to school and finishing my doctorate as a family nurse practitioner,” he said. “I love business management, but now I’m actually going to get back into the clinical world, and I’ll start seeing patients in 2013.”
But his workplace isn’t the only venue Nordstrom has shown a commitment to young people. He has coached multiple sports in Wilbraham over the years, in addition to five years as baseball coach at Minnechaug High School and a stint as board member at the Scantic Valley YMCA.
When his three boys started growing up, he couldn’t devote time to all those activities, but he’s still active in youth sports, coaching his kids’ baseball and basketball teams.
“Over the past year, I’ve been helping the Wilbraham Recreation Department to build its baseball program,” he explained, including a clinic for coaches on teaching fundamentals to young athletes.
“That’s one of the things I love to do,” he said. “I love to coach, I love kids, and I love allowing kids to get better, getting them the skills they need to succeed.”
— Joseph Bednar