MOUNT VERNON – Many people think of Knox Community Hospital as a place to go only for major medical treatments such as surgery or other procedures that require an overnight hospital stay.
They may be surprised to learn that the hospital also has an outpatient department of primary care.
Rachail McKinley is a nurse practitioner in the hospital’s primary care department.
“We see patients aged 16 through end of life,” McKinley said. “We provide comprehensive care. We take care of hypertension, diabetes, all of those kinds of things.
“(The message the hospital wants to send to patients is that) we don’t just want to see you when you are ill. We really want to see people on an annual basis so that we are looking not only at your biologic markers but also weight, blood pressure. We’re also making sure you are up to date on preventative health care.”
That would include cancer screenings and making sure patients receive vaccinations not only in childhood but as adults.
“People are going to do much better and live longer, healthier lives if we’re managing those risk factors and making sure that if disease is present, we’re capturing it in its pre-clinical stage,” she said
In addition to annual checkups, McKinley advises patients to make sure they are getting enough sleep, exercising, eating right and maintaining a healthy weight. Also, don’t smoke and try to limit stress.
“All of those things are going to help you in years to come,” she said.
Patients should not be discouraged from annual checkups because of their weight or other conditions. McKinley’s approach is to help educate patients, not lecture or shame them.
Mental health is also important, particularly after the harrowing COVID-19 pandemic of the last year, she said. Primary care physicians are a good place to start to find out more about resources for help.
