“I spend time with my patients, doing a head-to-toe exam,” APRN Stephanie Simmons tells the Journal with a relaxed smile. “I’m not rushing it. I want you to be comfortable, to know I’m here to help you.”
Isn’t that the attitude you want when you go in to the doctor’s office? It’s not surprising that you’ll find Stephanie at Winn Community Health Center whose refrain is “Proving essential services regardless one’s ability to pay.”
She’s been a nurse for 25 years and has been an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse for the past 12 years. “I always knew, even as a little girl, that I wanted to be a nurse. I had two aunts in my neighborhood who were nurses. I always knew.”
The Winnfield native is a 1994 graduate of WSHS who received her LPN degree from the original Huey P. Long Technical College on S. Jones Street. She went on to NSU for two more degrees in nursing before receiving her APRN degree at Grambling. She’s worked elsewhere but keeps coming back to Winnfield “because it’s my home. These are my people, my friends and it make me feel good to see them do better.”
Asked her role as an APRN with Trinity, she responds it is primary care for the family, “the total range from ages 0 to 100.” She can diagnose and treat illnesses, give advice, refer to specialists, administer IVs, “everything. When I do a physical, I want my patients to respond, ‘Wow. That’s how it ought to be’.”
Her personal style is her trademark. “I’m very verbal. I talk to my people to get to know them. When they see me as their friend, they tend to open up more, knowing that what they tell me isn’t going anywhere else. It’s between us. The more I know about what’s going on around them, the more I can understand their whole well-being.”
Stephanie comes from a family of four and, herself, has been married to Billy Harris for 21 years and has three children plus one “bonus” child. She is celebrating the recent arrival of her first grandchild, a girl.
To see a healthcare professional like Stephanie at Winn Community Health Center, part of the Trinity group, call 318-648-3075. They are located at 431 W. Lafayette Street in Winnfield, in the shadow of the rising three-story complex that will spaciously house their services.