Medical Services
The Portsmouth Abbey Infirmary staff is composed of dedicated medical professionals who provide the utmost attention and care to all students. From dispensing medication to treating illness and injury, rest assured that your child will be well cared for at Portsmouth Abbey School.
The Infirmary is staffed 24 hours per day, seven days per week by Registered Nurses. The School’s physician, Dr. Stephen Butler, is on call seven days per week, and sees boarding students three days per week during scheduled clinic hours. Referrals to specialists and routine medical and dental appointments for boarding students are coordinated by the Infirmary nurses. Students requiring evaluation for emergencies are transported to Newport Hospital in Newport, RI.
Boarding students requiring administration of medication should report to the infirmary between the hours of 7:30am-8:15am on school days, and between 7:30am-11am on Sundays. Evening medications are dispensed between the hours of 5pm-7:30pm. Boarding students who are ill should report to the Infirmary at 7:30am on school days for evaluation. Students should not visit the Infirmary during class time other than in the event of an emergency or acute illness. Any student who needs to visit the Infirmary after 8pm must report his/her illness to a houseparent. The houseparent will notify the Infirmary via telephone, and the student must be escorted by a houseparent or prefect.
Counseling appointments are available three afternoons/evenings per week with the School's psychologists, Dr. Norman Weitzberg and Dr. Anne Davidge. Appointments are coordinated through the Infirmary nurses, and can be made by student self-referral, or through referral from a parent, houseparent, advisor, or other faculty member.
Mrs. Celia Brown, MS, RN, CSNT
Director of Medical Services
AS, Nursing, Community College of Rhode Island
BA, Rhode Island College
MS, University of Southern California
cbrown@portsmouthabbey.org
(401) 643-1233
Celia Brown is a Rhode Island certified school nurse teacher with prior nursing experience in hospital medical/surgical units, six years of inpatient behavioral health, and worked as a community health center quality improvement RN. She joined the Portsmouth Abbey Infirmary team in 2011 and has served as Director of Medical Services since 2014.