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Reaching out

MHS grad McKee: Honored to be trusted with people’s lives

Photo by Jody Isaackson Physician Assistant Stephanie McKee, right, pauses for a photo during her busy day at the ACMC in Marshall. She is conferring with her CMA Keri Sandhurst. McKee is one of many Marshall High School graduates who have chosen to come back to Marshall to live after having worked elsewhere.

Editor’s Note: This story is the third in a series that reflect the contributions made by Marshall High School graduates when they returned to the community.

MARSHALL –When one thinks of the medical profession, often scenes from television shows come to mind. It becomes easier to do when some of them are real stories of the emergency room or story lines based on real cases. And, some are from personal experience.

Some stories have great endings; the patient is healed and the pain is relieved. Others do not fare so well.

Healthcare professionals like Physician Assistant (PA) Stephanie McKee of Marshall frequently face those kinds of scenarios and find it is even tougher when they have known the patient for some time.

“The toughest aspect of my job is delivering bad diagnoses to people that I know,” McKee said. “In a small town (like Marshall), you know the patient’s whole family — parents, children, siblings — and interact with them in the community. It’s not just a doctor-patient relationship. In large cities, a doctor might not see the patient again for four years, or maybe never again.”

In other situations, working in the community can be very satisfying for medical workers.

“My husband, Timothy Michals, and I like helping educate people,” McKee said. “We reach out to schools and Boulder Estates to train them to lead healthier lives, release excess weight so they can get off certain prescriptions and increase activity. In February, we will be talking about heart health.”

The couple is also involved in other organizations in the community such as Kiwanis, United Way and Hospice.

They didn’t always live in Marshall. McKee grew up here, but after graduating Marshall High School, she went to Briarcliffe College in Sioux City, Iowa. From there, she headed to North Chicago and the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science for her PA training.

“That’s where I met Timothy,” she said. “He was in med school there.”

When she graduated the PA school, McKee worked for six months at the Chicagoland Area Clinic, but, with the two-hour commutes (for a 10-mile drive) and the impersonal large city environment, it didn’t seem like a good place to raise a family.

The couple moved back to Marshall where McKee has family. They were both able to get jobs at the Affiliated Community Medical Center.

“I thoroughly enjoy working here and being home,” McKee said, “It’s an honor to be back in the area and to have patients trust me with a very valuable thing: their lives.”

The couple has four children: Joshua, 7, Elizabeth, 5, Gabrielle, 2, and Caleb, 3 months. The older two attend school at Park Side Elementary, while the younger two go to the Marshall Area Childcare Center.

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