Feature
Fleetwood Family Medicine celebrated a ribbon cutting for the new clinic in May 2021. Photos submitted
Ashe County Native Instrumental in Opening of
Fleetwood Family Medicine One of the greatest successes of a new clinic — located on U.S.
221 in Ashe County — is its efforts to remove previous barriers that limited rural residents’ access to health care. Affiliated with Ashe Memorial Hospital, Fleetwood Family Medicine began taking patients in May 2021 and offers accessible, high-quality care for all ages. Fleetwood Family Medicine provider Kathleen “Katie” Miller, FNP-C, described the impact that this clinic has had on the community as being “far beyond my wildest dreams.” “I have had patients come to me 26 | September-October 2021
saying this is the first time they have been seen by a provider in over 30 years just because of the limited access to care, whether it be due to transportation issues, financial constraints, etc,” Katie says. “I have been able to diagnose some pretty significant medical problems that could have been detrimental had they continued to not seek health care.” Katie graduated from Ashe County High School in 2007 and pursued higher education at Western Carolina University later that fall. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in May 2011. After obtaining her undergraduate
degree, she began working at Ashe Memorial Hospital as a Med-Surg nurse that same month. She spent about a year on the Med-Surg unit before starting a job as a labor and delivery nurse. She continued in that unit until she finished with her Masters of Science in Nursing from East Tennessee State University in August 2015. She has been married to her high school sweetheart Josh for nine and a half years. Together they have 8-monthold twin sons, Brooks and Oliver, and a chocolate lab named Charlee May. Her family nurse practitioner (FNP) aawmag.com
