Meet The Team
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Gina Vanderveldt, Founder and Nurse Practitioner
Gina attended Thomas Jefferson University where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree in 2005. While attending nursing school she held leadership roles with the Student Nurses Association of Pennsylvania (SNAP). During her junior year, she was Vice President of the local chapter and her senior year she was elected President of the local chapter. After graduation, she began working as a nurse in the emergency department at Thomas Jefferson University in Pennsylvania, and later held the same position at Stanford University Hospital in California and Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Tennessee.
While working at Vanderbilt, she decided to pursue her dream of becoming a nurse practitioner. She was accepted into an elite, specialty program at Vanderbilt University, which is one of the top ten programs in the country. She pursued a dual certification in both acute care and family medicine. She graduated in 2013 with a Master of Science in Nursing and was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing for academic excellence. She is one of very few nurse practitioners board-certified in both adult gerontology acute care and family medicine.
After graduation, Gina worked as a Nurse Practitioner in one of Tennessee’s largest emergency rooms, serving over 70,000 patients each year. Additionally, she remained active with Vanderbilt University volunteering her time at the School of Nursing, helping to teach future nurse practitioners procedural skills and clinical simulations. She left emergency medicine to pursue a career in aesthetics and founded Vita Aesthetics in May, 2019.
She has certifications and training in Cosmetic Injections (neuromodulators, dermal fillers, PRP/PRF), Laser modalities (IPL, Erbium Yag- skin resurfacing, 810 Diode- hair removal, Long pulse Yag - vascular treatment, & Q-Switch- tattoo removal), Facial Aesthetics, PRP/PRF, Ultherapy, Microneedling.
Member of: American Med Spa Association; Tennessee Society of Laser and Medical Surgery; American Academy of Nurse Practitioners
Shelly Slaughter, Director of Aesthetic Services
Shelly has 21 years of experience as an aesthetician. Shelly graduated from the Jon Nave University of Cosmetology in Nashville in 1998, and passed the Tennessee State Board of Cosmetology in Aesthetics that same year. She furthered her education in advanced aesthetics at The Conservatory of Aesthetics in Chicago. She has extended education through Allergan in Atlanta in glycolic and chemical peels as well as microdermabrasion. Shelly also attended Institut’ DERMed College of Advanced Aesthetics in Atlanta, GA for Dermaplaning & Advanced Chemical Peel training, and attended the Cosmedical Aesthetic Training course where she earned her certification for Microneedling at the same institution. Shelly regularly updates her skillset such as through a Dermalogica product knowledge and training course that she took this year.
Shelly has lived in the Hendersonville/Gallatin area her entire life. She became business owner in 1998 and began to work for herself. She is thankful for her two sons and three stepchildren, and wonderful husband. Being an aesthetician is truly her passion. She loves helping clients overcome their skincare issues to achieve beautiful, glowing skin. It truly thrills her to help clients feel confident about themselves.
Garig Vanderveldt, M.D., Medical Director
Garig Vanderveldt is practicing Emergency Medical Physician at the Tennova Medical Center in Clarksville. Garig graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering with a concentration in Biomechanical Engineering. While at Georgia Tech, he won the Georgia Engineering Foundation Award for best senior design in engineering in the entire state. Afterwards, he then was awarded and completed the Threshold Honors Program in Biology sponsored by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He received his Doctorate in Medicine from Jefferson Medical College in 2004, where he was the recipient of the Allman academic scholarship. He completed his residency in emergency medicine in 2007, where he was awarded the Noguchi Medical Research Institute Award for International Study in Japan. From 2007 to 2008 Garig was a Clinical Instructor and Cardiovascular Emergencies Fellow at Stanford University in California. Since 2008, Garig has been a practicing emergency medicine physician at the Tennova Medical Center in Clarksville, Tennessee.
While practicing in Clarksville, Garig has served as member of the Critical Care Committee, Chest Pain Center Committee, and Door to Balloon Committee. In 2018, Garig was voted Physician of the Year at Tennova Medical Center. Finally, in addition to clinical responsibilities, he is the Assistant Medical Director of the emergency department.
Currently, Garig is the Medical Director at Vita Aesthetics, and is also finishing his Executive MBA at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He plans to leverage learnings from the MBA program to help establish Vita Aesthetics as the leader in aesthetics services in Middle Tennessee. In addition to completing his Cardiovascular Fellowship at Stanford University, Garig has furthered his training in aesthetics with additional training in laser and ultrasound technologies, and injectables.