‘This was my dream’: Nurse who helped open state’s first urgent care reflects on 44 year career

MASS. — As we continue to celebrate Women’s History Month, we’re highlighting a local nurse at the forefront of the changing face of health care. From working at one of the first urgent cares to co-founding one of the first nurse-owned esthetic practices in the state—Linda Vecchione is a pioneer in her field and after 44 years, she’s hanging up her stethoscope.

As a little girl raised in revere, Linda says she always wanted to be in the medical field—especially esthetics. At the time, she didn’t know how to get into that sector—so she turned her focus to a nursing career in the NICU.

“Then I was approached to work with this doctor that was opening these urgent cares, so I didn’t even know what they were,” said Vecchione.”

Excited to see what this new concept would be right in her backyard, Linda jumped on board.

“It was the first one in the state and then they opened up,” said Vecchione. “They were, like, popping up, like everywhere. Every town had one.”

Linda says... She believes Health Stop helped transform health care.

“I think it was something that needed to happen and I think it’s really thriving there everywhere now,” said Vecchione.

Linda continued to spread her wings, getting her master’s in education and also taking an esthetics course.

“A lot of people do think that esthetics is a fad and it’s not a fad,” said Vecchione. “It’s real medicine. It’s real nursing. You have to know your anatomy. It’s just a whole different realm of nursing.”

In 2012, Linda reached out to fellow nurse Michelle Doran about opening an esthetics practice in Lynnfield.

“We were one of the pioneers, we were one of the first to do this,” said Michelle Doran, co-owner of RN Esthetics.

“We just took a leap of faith and decided we were going to give it a go,” said Vecchione. “Of course, our husbands thought we were nuts, but, yeah, we proved them wrong.”

Getting the financial support was a challenge because the pair of female nurses had to convince banks to back their dreams—while taking a big risk.

“We had to put personal collateral on everything in order to get a loan,” said Doran. “People, I think, were worried that it was more of a fad and we were going to open a practice and within a year or two it was going to be nonexistent.”

Instead, Linda and Michelle quickly expanded their small office into three locations and have 30 employees—that they continue to educate and train.

“I’m so happy that this happened because this was my dream from when I was a kid, so I feel like it’s like a full circle moment,” said Vecchione.

At RN Esthetics, Linda loves making others feel and look good, but after 44 years in the nursing field, she decided to pass the baton so she could focus on herself and her family.

“I think, you know, once you’ve once you’ve done something historic like she did, helping set up the practice, it’s time for her to really do those things,” said Doran.

However, Linda says the education never stops. Her business works with local colleges, like Endicott, to have nurses come in to train and mentor as they learn about the growing esthetic field.

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