Shriners Children’s New England Welcomes Dr. Jennifer Earle Miller

SPRINGFIELD — Shriners Children’s New England announced physiatrist Dr. Jennifer Earle Miller as a new member of its medical team. She has expertise in the rehabilitation of individuals with amputations and limb differences, cerebral palsy, and other causes of gait abnormality, spasticity, and low muscle tone, and is certified by the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Miller graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Albany Medical College’s combined seven-year BS-MD program. Her residency training at Harvard Medical School and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston coincided with the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013, an experience that helped shape her career. She provided acute amputee care for survivors and helped them acclimate to the use of prosthetic devices.

“It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to have as a resident,” she recalled. “There was no question I wanted to treat amputees in the future.”

Miller went on to work at Albany Medical Center, where she helped amputees of all ages restore or optimize their mobility. She also created and led a multi-disciplinary clinic for children with cerebral palsy. Through this work, she discovered that caring for pediatric patients brought her great joy.

“When I thought about taking my career to a new setting, the thing I couldn’t live without was treating children,” she explained. “I decided to pivot to being solely a pediatrics provider.”

Miller identifies non-surgical interventions to help her patients achieve the activities that are important to them. “In physiatry, we provide lifelong care,” she explained. “For amputee patients, I make sure children are outfitted with the right prostheses as they grow and as their interests change. I also help them manage symptoms like phantom limb syndrome and nerve pain.”

Education is a key part of her practice, for both patients and their caregivers. “For my patients with cerebral palsy, I learn what their daily life is like and how I can help on a practical level. I present treatment options and make sure they have access to the equipment and supports they need.” For patients with spasticity, she performs botulinum toxin injections and phenol nerve blocks in both the outpatient clinic and OR setting.

Drawn to the patient-centered environment at Shriners Children’s New England, Miller appreciates the opportunity to collaborate with other specialists in one location. “One of the things I love about Shriners Children’s is the ability to walk down the hall to orthopedics, physical therapy, or orthotics and prosthetics to ask a question about a patient in real time,” she said. “Delivering all of that care under one roof has been really rewarding.”

In addition to practicing at Shriners Children’s New England, Miller is an associate professor and director of the disability curriculum at Albany Medical College. She also serves on national education committees with the Assoc. of Academic Physiatrists. She is currently accepting new patients.