TRAILBLAZERS: Morgan Leaventon guides Summit County kids from the bunny hill to better health

Morgan Leaventon, a family nurse practitioner at Wasatch Pediatrics and part-time Deer Valley ski instructor, is the latest feature in TownLift’s Trailblazers series. Photo: Morgan Leaventon

PARK CITY, Utah — In winter, Morgan Leaventon greets many of her young patients twice in the same day. First she steadies their skis on Deer Valley’s beginner terrain; later she settles them on an exam-room stool at Wasatch Pediatrics.

“I grew up skiing here on vacation, and I always had such a connection to skiing in the mountains,” Leaventon said. “I became a registered nurse, took my boards and moved right out here.”

Leaventon, 32, earned her nursing degree at Duquesne University in 2015, then jumped straight into 12-hour shifts at Primary Children’s Hospital, rotating through surgical, cardiac and post-anesthesia units. Weekend ski-school work kept her tied to the slopes she loved. “I prefer kids, but I do also help people of all ages get better at skiing and love to see the stoke in their eyes,” she said.

The Ohio native later completed the University of Cincinnati’s online family nurse practitioner program “while I was working full time and ski instructing,” she said. A cold call to Wasatch Pediatrics turned into a job offer two weeks later, anchoring her practice in the community she already coached on snow.

A medicine-mountain loop

Leaventon’s approach in clinic mirrors her calm on the hill — collaborative, option-oriented and rooted in trust. “I’m always making a team approach, giving them all the information they need,” she said. For a severely constipated toddler she may prescribe MiraLAX, “but sometimes I just offer prunes, straight prunes,” letting parents decide what fits their routines and beliefs.

Her own childhood informs that empathy. “I was a bit of a medically complex child,” she said. “I had rare benign tumors as a kid and had my left eye removed when I was 11.” Returning to skiing and mountain biking with monocular vision is “something I pride myself on,” she added. “I love setting an example for kiddos to try new things and to be comfortable in their own skin.”

Listening for silent stress

Mental-health visits now claim a growing share of her calendar. “I’ve always actually liked mental health,” Leaventon said. “What I emphasize is creating a safe place for the kid to go. Feeling comfortable voicing that you’re sad or anxious … keeping an open dialog with a trusted adult is probably the most important thing.”

Early warning signs, she said, include “not doing well in school” and a sudden “disinterest in certain activities that they once liked.” When a child says, “I need some help,” Leaventon focuses on small, early interventions that can prevent crisis later.

Dirt under fingernails

Her first prescription for many families is time outside. “Getting your kids outside off the phone is probably the healthiest thing you can do,” she said, adding that she smiles when young patients arrive “almost a little bit dirty, because they were playing outside.”

Leaventon hopes that example carries far beyond the clinic walls. “I love setting an example for kiddos to try new things and to be comfortable in their own skin,” she said. Whether she’s catching a child on their first wedge turn or talking them through a difficult diagnosis, she plans to keep showing Summit County’s youngest residents that courage and care can ride the same lift together.