Ozarks Healthcare welcomes Maria Eskandar, FNP, to Walk-In Clinic Team

Ozarks Healthcare is excited to welcome Maria Eskandar, family nurse practitioner (FNP), to its Walk-In Clinic team in West Plains. With several years of experience at Ozarks Healthcare and a deep love for people and medicine, Eskandar brings both skill and heart to every patient she sees.

Eskandar’s journey in healthcare began in 2015 when she joined Ozarks Healthcare as a clinic technician in its Heart and Lung Center. What began as a role behind the scenes turned into a calling. Over the years, Eskandar worked her way through nursing school, eventually earning her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and Master of Science in Nursing (BSN to MSN) from Western Governors University in Salt Lake City, Utah.

“Becoming a nurse practitioner wasn’t something I saw for myself at first,” Eskandar shared. “But I kept going back to school because I loved caring for people. I’ve had amazing mentors and support throughout the way, and I truly feel like I’m where I’m meant to be.”

Eskandar has served in multiple nursing roles at Ozarks Healthcare, including on its Medical-Surgical (Med/Surg) Department, and brings clinical strengths in wound care, patient education, and acute care management. She has also trained in pediatric and adult primary care, dermatology, orthopedics, and more through her practicum experience.

Originally from Pennsylvania and California, Eskandar moved to West Plains in 2014 and quickly felt embraced by the community.

“West Plains has been so kind to me and my family,” she said. “Now, I want to give that same care back to the people who’ve supported me.”

Eskandar joins the Ozarks Healthcare Walk-In Clinic full-time and is excited about the opportunity to grow in her new role. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her husband, Aaron, and their three children. She’s a fan of fishing, wood burning, and anything outdoors.

Eskandar’s approach to care is simple: “I want people to feel good, feel heard, and know they have someone in their corner,” she said.

Ozarks Healthcare’s Walk-In Clinic is located at 181 Kentucky Ave. (Highland Park, Suite 100) in West Plains and is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.

For more information, call 417-257-5911, or visit www.ozarkshealthcare.com.

Ozarks Healthcare is a not-for-profit health system that serves more than 160,000 residents across south-central Missouri and northern Arkansas. With its main campus residing in West Plains, Missouri, the health system offers a full spectrum of healthcare for all ages through its 114-bed hospital, behavioral health, therapies, pharmacies, rehabilitation, and home care services, along with specialty and family medicine clinics. Ozarks Healthcare has rural locations across an eight-county service area and is accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations.

Maria Eskandar, FNP, Ozarks Healthcare Walk-In Clinic