Spirit of Maryville 2020: Taryn Denezpi

Taryn Denezpi

The ability to earn her degree online is why Taryn Denezpi, DNP, ACNPC-AG, is able to help stroke victims today. Through the flexibility of virtual classrooms, Denezpi navigated moving across the country, managing a high-risk pregnancy and caring for a new baby — all while earning a doctorate in nursing practice.

In her schoolwork, Denezpi focused on stroke patients who miss the narrow window of time for a life-changing intervention called tPA, an intravenous clot-busting drug. She wondered: might these patients benefit from another, minimally invasive procedure called mechanical thrombectomy? Denezpi was instrumental in adding this treatment for stroke patients at Lovelace Medical Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Now she’s using her expertise to help her new employer, the University of New Mexico Hospital, prepare for certification as a Comprehensive Stroke Center.

Denezpi knows how a traditional campus program, requiring her to attend classes in person, could have thwarted or postponed the education that makes her work possible. For her, online learning provided the best of both worlds, especially because of the constant support she received from Maryville. “It’s compassion you don’t get everywhere,” she said. “It’s like I always had a family keeping close tabs on me.”