Chelsea Ratilainen

Chelsea Ratilainen is a nurse who cares for children having rehabilitation therapy, treatment to recover as much as possible from an injury or illness. Depending on individual needs, she provides care immediately after a patient's injury or illness, or throughout their life. She works with patients who have spina bifida, spasticity or other movement disorders, limb length inequalities, amputations, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and bowel or bladder dysfunction caused by spinal cord injuries, as well as many other conditions.

Ratilainen builds relationships with patients and their families, and helps coordinate care, with the goal of helping each patient reach their highest level of function. She has a particular interest in management and training for providing patients with intrathecal baclofen pumps (which treat spasticity by delivering muscle relaxant medication to the spinal fluid) and Peristeen pumps (which help patients manage fecal incontinence). She is also interested in care coordination for patients receiving treatment at multiple centers and from multiple disciplines.

Ratilainen earned an associate's degree in nursing from City College of San Francisco and a bachelor's degree in nursing from California State University, East Bay. She earned a master's degree in nursing from the University of San Francisco. She is a certified rehabilitation registered nurse.