Certified nurse practitioner Alysia O'Brien has brought decades of nursing wounded skin back to health into her new role as the proud owner of Cohasset’s Compass Light MedSpa on Main Street in Cohasset Village.

Growing up in Western Massachusetts, Alysia attended Gardner High School, where she was an athlete, excelling in sports from field hockey to softball. Alysia's love for sports earned her a scholarship to play field hockey at UMass Lowell, where she made the pivotal decision to pursue nursing.

It was during her time at UMass Lowell that Alysia met her future husband, Danny, who played ice hockey. She graduated in 2005, earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. While Danny completed his final year of college, Alysia spent a year in Texas, where she worked as a medical-surgical nurse, specializing in post-surgical care for pediatric patients. 

She returned to the Boston area in 2006, embarking on a new chapter in her nursing career at Shriners Hospitals for Children, a pediatric burn hospital. 

It was here that Alysia found her calling.

Starting on the reconstructive unit, Alysia provided care to children recovering from burn injuries. She worked closely with some of the top plastic surgeons, nurses, and rehabilitation therapists in the world. 

The highly collaborative environment at Shriners fostered Alysia's deep understanding of burn care, wound healing, and the intricate nature of skin anatomy. 

She spent a majority of her career at Shriners, transitioning from bedside nurse to nurse practitioner after earning her Family Nurse Practitioner certification from UMass Boston in 2010.

During this time, Alysia and Danny married and welcomed their first son, Colin, soon after. Alysia briefly worked at Cohasset Family Practice as a nurse practitioner, but she ultimately returned to Shriners, describing her time there as "one of the most rewarding jobs" she ever had. 

“The children are the bravest humans in the world,” Alysia says. “They are so resilient and have taught me so much.” 

As parents, Alysia and Danny went on to welcome two daughters, Emily and Catherine. The family moved to Scituate in 2018, where they quickly fell in love with the South Shore community, finding it the perfect place to raise their children, now in 1st, 4th and 6th grades. 

“It is such a privilege to raise our kids in this area,” Alysia notes. “I couldn't think of a better place to raise a family.”

While Alysia continued her work at Shriners, a growing interest in aesthetics lingered in the back of her mind and she began toying with the idea of opening her own medical spa. 

The combination of her clinical expertise in wound care and her passion for aesthetics seemed like the perfect fit. Last year, when all three of her children were in elementary school, Alysia decided the time was right.

With Danny’s unwavering support, Alysia began taking classes in injectables and aesthetics, and quickly realized that while aesthetics was different from burn care, there were many similarities—both fields involve helping individuals feel their best and promoting healing. 

As Alysia puts it, "Everyone wants to feel good and live their best life, and if you can be part of that process, it's so gratifying."

After extensive planning and preparation, Compass Light MedSpa was born. Alysia's vision for the MedSpa was clear: to offer a wide range of services with a focus on personalized, safe, and effective care. 

Compass Light is a full-service med spa, offering everything from injectables like Botox and dermal fillers to address wrinkles and elasticity, to laser hair removal, tattoo removal, laser skin resurfacing and microneedling skin care treatments. They also offer medical-grade skin care, IV hydration therapy and a medical weight loss support program using GLP-1 therapy.

One of Alysia's most popular treatments to start with is the Hydrafacial, which she describes as "the best facial you can get." Using vortex technology, the Hydrafacial exfoliates impurities and hydrates the skin, leaving clients with a radiant glow. 

Alysia’s approach to aesthetics is centered on enhancing her clients’ natural beauty. "My goal is not to change how you look or have you look like you've had something done," she explains. "You should look like yourself—just refreshed, like you had a great night's sleep and a vacation."

Compass Light has already garnered rave reviews from clients who appreciate both the stunning space and the exceptional treatments. 

Alysia credits her years at Shriners for preparing her to provide safe, competent, and compassionate care.  

“Compass Light,” she says, “is the culmination of years of experience and dedication, clinical mastery, and a commitment to providing the highest quality of care.”