Jim and Edith Atkins learned the value of locally accessible healthcare after a bumpy road led them to find a compassionate healthcare provider.
The couple enjoys their small-town life in Willow Lake, the place they’ve called home for decades. Jim owned a meat locker for more than two decades after a career working at packing plants. He later worked part-time at an elevator. They have a son and daughter that live nearby as well as seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Their little Morkie Mia provides entertainment and runs the house.
“She is spoiled,” Edith said.
Edith went to school in Mitchell but has no interest in living in a bigger city – she loves the perks of their Willow Lake community.
“You feel safer in a small town,” she said. “People know each other. Our community is very good.”
That community comes together in times of trouble – such as the cancer diagnosis for Jim’s great-nephew, a junior in high school whose hometown raised money for his treatment.
“You don’t know who your friends are until something happens,” Jim said. “It really is a close-knit town.”
One drawback of Willow Lake is the absence of a medical clinic. This forced the Atkins to look further from home for their healthcare. What they initially found was not meeting their needs.
Jim has atrial fibrillation – a common heart disorder that causes the upper chambers of the heart to beat irregularly and rapidly. His blood pressure dipped to a point that was very low, Edith said, but they couldn’t see a provider right away at the larger health system they were using as their primary care provider. This had become a common issue – enough was enough. They decided to start seeing Kristin Pratt, CNP, at Horizon Health De Smet Medical.
“The best move we ever made is to come down here to Horizon Health,” Edith said.
The couple were impressed with Kristin right away. She took the time to find answers to their health problems and listened to their concerns.
“I would give this place 100%,” Edith said. “You’re family. You’re not a number. We really appreciate that.”
Along with his AFib, Jim still struggles with aftereffects of falling face first on their kitchen floor. He lost six teeth as a result. Edith has made significant progress in weight management under Horizon’s Chronic Care Management Program, in which they are now both enrolled.
“We’re more on top of it,” she said. “We pay more attention to what’s going on. If you have someone calling you and asking you if you have any problems, I think that makes a big difference.”
The couple encourages others to support Horizon because of the excellent care they’ve received and the assistance it could give others in managing their own care.
“We think the world and all of our nurse practitioner,” Edith said. “We could not have made a better move than what we did here. We tell a lot of people that – you want a doctor that cares, go to De Smet. I feel comfortable here.”