Ste.
Genevieve, MO - Some people move away from their hometowns. For many,
the twists and turns of life never lead them back home again.
However,
that's not the case for a number of practitioners who have returned to
Ste. Genevieve to practice medicine at Ste. Genevieve County Memorial Hospital,
including one of its newest staff members, Nurse Practitioner Elizabeth Ley.
In
the eleven years since graduating at the top of her class at Valle, she has
pursued her medical career.
She
received her nursing degree from University of Missouri at Columbia. Ley has
explored a number of nursing avenues from the Emergency Department to Home
Health to Clinical Cancer Trials.
Along
the way, she has received extensive clinical experience from a many SGCMH
practitioners including Rikki Schaefer, PA, Melissa Naeger, FNP, Kelly Donze, CNM,
WHNP, Anne Wolk, FNP and Holly Huelskamp, FNP.
“During college, I was a pre-med major and I shadowed Kelly Donze
in Women’s Health and I just loved that experience,” she said. “I changed my
whole focus. My goal as a nurse was to become a family nurse practitioner and
work either in family practice as a family care provider or work in a walk-in
clinic.”
Her interest in primary care is two-fold.
“Once you do primary care, you know a little bit about a lot
of things so you can choose to practice in any number of areas,” she said. “But
I’ve always wanted to make relationships with my patients and really get to
know them. So, I think primary care is where I’ll probably stay. I think it’s
my niche.”
Coming back to Ste. Genevieve to practice medicine has
always been on Elizabeth’s radar.
“I got the hospital scholarship in high school, and when I
got to college, I learned that rural areas are underserved so I always wanted to
come back and treat the people that were most in need. Plus, they’re my people.
It’s nice to come back to the town where you grew up and give back to the
community that gave you your roots.”
Elizabeth has only been at SGCMH for a month or so, but she
already feels like she is where she wants to be.
“Things have been great so far,” she said. “I know a lot of
the people I’m treating, which I always think it’s nice to see a familiar face
when you come to the doctor. No one likes to be at the doctor’s office.”
Elizabeth and her family currently live thirty minutes north
of Ste. Genevieve, but hope to find some land in Ste. Genevieve sometime in the
near future. She and her husband Kyle have two and a half children—a
four-year-old, three-year-old and one on the way in November. As a family, they
enjoy fishing and going on hikes.
“We love to be active, and the kids are a little wild, but
it’s all fun.”
Elizabeth currently works in the Bloomsdale and Ste.
Genevieve walk-in clinics.
Ste. Genevieve County Memorial Hospital is a nonprofit county owned
community hospital that works to continue to improve the health and well-being
of the community. Our professional staff uses advanced technology and medicine
to provide excellent, personalized, and compassionate healthcare. For more
information on Ste. Genevieve County Memorial Hospital, visit
stegenevievehospital.org. Here for you
healthcare journey!
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