Debra Simons was born in New York City, New York and grew up in New Jersey. She moved to Boston after graduation from college. Debra’s undergraduate education was at the State University of New York at Binghamton, where she received her Bachelor of Science in nursing in 1982 and was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau, the National Nursing Honor Society in her junior year. In 1993 she completed a Master of Science degree in maternal-child health nursing at Boston College. She is board-certified as a pediatric nurse practitioner by the American Nurses Credentialing Center and licensed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Debra began her career as a staff nurse at the Beth Israel Hospital in a surgical subspecialty unit, and later practiced in the special care nursery. She subsequently served in various medical, surgical and intensive care pediatric nursing capacities at the New England Medical Center. Debra served as maternal-child health specialist at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, where she was involved in case management, consultations and project development. She also visited mothers and infants at home after delivery.

Debra joined Hyde Park Pediatrics as a pediatric nurse practitioner in 1997. She especially enjoys offering advice to families regarding infant and child care. She has special expertise in breast-feeding and enjoys helping new mothers and babies learn to breast-feed. She is also very involved with a group of families at Hyde Park Pediatrics with children with special needs and enjoys helping them navigate the health care system and making sure the children are getting the very best care possible.