In her eight months since taking over as the clinic’s Advanced Practice Registered Nurse, Julie Welsh says she and the clinic staff have focused on prevention to help women be as healthy as possible.
In the last six months, Julie said Clinic Staff have successfully screened women for an ectopic pregnancy, breast cancers, pelvic masses, genetically linked conditions and skin issues in women.
Some of these cases led to life-saving collaboration with area health care providers, she said.
“Prevention does work, and early detection is your best protection,” said Clinic Manager Cori Green. “And once again, Julie has demonstrated that she does more than just annual exams here, she saves lives. I am so proud of this Clinic team.”
Julie grew up in western Nebraska and moved to De Soto two years ago due to her husband Justin’s job. She had worked as a nurse practitioner for an OB-Gyn in Nebraska, and upon her move to Kansas had been teaching at Johnson County
Community College before coming to LDCPH in November to work for two months with longtime APRN Sue McDaneld, who retired in December.
Her time so far leading the women’s health clinic has involved seeing patients temporarily on the second floor due to the clinic remodel, and she is helping the clinic progress into offering new services related family planning.
“My goals as a women’s health practitioner is to offer compassionate and competent women’s health services, which enables women to reach their lifetime goals, and encourage women to be self-aware about their health issues, risks and maximize their healthcare outcomes,” Julie said. “We are sometimes the first step for women, and we can help them access other services in our community by collaboration and referring and helping them receive established care.”
She also sees women’s health as a key role in public health services.
“When you help women improve their own health, that helps their families, which then helps their neighborhoods, which then helps their cities,” Julie said, “making a broader impact on our community.”