Heather Harris is a board-certified physician assistant who specializes in spine care, including the cervical and lumbar spine. Since 2014, she has assisted Dr. Stephen Ritter in the operating room performing minimally invasive spine procedures. A vital member of the spine team at Forté, Heather cares for patients before and after surgery. She offers a personalized and streamlined approach to treating the spine by focusing on comprehensive care utilizing other specialists in the practice, if needed.

Prior to joining Forté, Heather worked at IU Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis where she was part of the team involved in the implantation of the first SynCardia total artificial heart in the State of Indiana. She discovered her love of orthopedics while pursuing her undergraduate degree in athletic training and assisting various athletic teams in their sports medicine care.

Outside of the classroom, she was captain of the Franklin College Division III Women’s Soccer Team, and in 2003, as a freshman, she was chosen for the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference All-Conference Team. In graduate school, Heather was a leader within her physician assistant class and worked as a student liaison to the Indiana Academy of Physician Assistants, even participating as a student representative to the American Academy of Physician Assistants House of Delegates on the national level. Since then, she has been active within the Indiana Academy of Physician Assistants, serving as president among other positions.

When she’s not at work, Heather enjoys hosting gatherings for her family and close friends. You can usually find her reading a good book or corralling friends for a board game night. She and her husband enjoy spending time outdoors camping and hiking with their two children and fluffy dog.