Melanie Black, adult-geriatric primary care APRN, has a colorful background and a deep love for people. She grew up on Cape Cod, MA and completed her first bachelor’s degree at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. There, she designed her own major called Holistic Health and Agriculture, driven by an entrepreneurial desire to own and run a yoga studio, while also studying health, nutrition and farming. After spending a number of years in the yoga and wellness industry, her professional calling to healthcare could not be silenced. She has always been drawn to primary care, born out of her passions for preventative medicine, and ability to foster long term relationships with her patients in this practice setting. 

Melanie received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing at Northeastern University in Boston, MA. She worked in Boston as a bedside RN on a busy orthopedics, trauma and surgery floor, and gained ICU experience during the Covid-19 pandemic. Melanie completed a primary care residency at the Veteran’s Administration in White River Junction, Vermont in 2021, and then took a full-time position in the Women’s Comprehensive Care Clinic at the VA. She is joining the High Lakes Cultus Lake team after taking a sabbatical to achieve a long time goal of 8 months of solo travel around Southeast Asia.

Melanie’s practice interests include obesity and weight management, menopause counseling and management, care of LGBTQIA+ populations, and providing patient-centered care to promote health and wellbeing for her patients. 

Melanie is overjoyed to be relocating to Bend, OR and to take advantage of the beauty the region has to offer. In her free time, she enjoys travel, hiking, yoga, Nordic and alpine skiing, scuba diving, stained glass art, singing and playing her ukulele.