Jeremy Garrett, a family nurse practitioner student studying for his master’s degree, finds great comfort in caring for his community in Le Roy, MI. Situated 130 miles, or a two-hour drive, from the Michigan State University College of Nursing, this small village taught Garrett the importance of giving back to your home. When deciding where to pursue his clinical education during his studies, there was no question that going back to the Osceola and Missaukee Counties area was the right choice.
Garrett was inspired to join the nursing field after caring for his grandfather in 2008. Garrett became deeply passionate about caring for his grandfather, being involved with his care for eight years.
“As a family, we all came together and we supported him,” said Garrett. “That inspired be to go back to school and achieve my registered nursing license.”
Garrett received his BSN in 2018, specializing in emergency and trauma medicine. He took a role in the emergency department at Spectrum Health in Reed City, MI, just 15 miles from the town he grew up in. He held that role until 2021, when he took a role as a recovery room and endoscopy nurse in Munson Healthcare Cadillac Hospital.
“It’s my home community, and I wanted to give back to this community,” said Garrett. “I received so much through school, from 4-H, through (Future Farmers of America) that I wanted to be able to give back to my local community.”
Garrett’s goal after graduation is to provide care to communities in need, including his own. The Le Roy, McBain, and Cadillac region is home to him and his family, and he feels deeply passionate about giving back to in any way he can.
Garrett is a highly involved volunteer with 4-H groups in Osceola County, MI, working with his children as they go through the same 4-H program that he did as a child. He also considers his nursing career as a significant action for building his community as he studies to become a family nurse practitioner.
Garrett completes clinical hours for his master’s program at a Family Health Care clinic in McBain, population 642. The clinic is a comprehensive primary care provider that specializes in hosting a “one-stop shop” for several healthcare services. Locations stretch from Grant, MI, just east of Muskegon, to Cadillac. Each hosts a variety of healthcare services, including primary care, dental, vision, behavioral health, lab, radiology and pharmacy services.
The federally qualified healthcare model that Family Health Care operates provides a sliding fee scale for patients who qualify, allowing those patients with limited income to pay only what they can afford.
“Patients can come in, get all of the services that they require, and be able to do so at a rate that’s beneficial to them,” said Garrett. “Some people can’t afford standard medical care, so they offer a sliding-fee scale. That way it’s based on their income and what they can afford to pay.”
The income considerations serve the rural area well. The socioeconomic standing of Garrett’s region greatly impacts their ability to seek care. With wide ranges of employment and access to health insurance, care may be out of reach for some patients.
“Being able to afford the care, travel for the care, to afford the medications being prescribed to them, and being able to afford time to go to physical therapy, that aspect alone could possibly break the bank for people,” said Garrett.
“They’re determining whether they achieve their medical goals or whether they pay the bills and eat food at night.”
Amanda Barton, Garrett’s FNP preceptor at Family Health Care, expands on the need to make healthcare as accessible as possible. There is a scarcity of primary care providers in rural areas, making it difficult for patients to seek care. If a patient is able to see a primary care provider, it may be more difficult to get necessary specialty care. Therefore, primary care providers have to be aware of many health specialties to assist their patients.
“You need to be up on your cardiology, in your nephrology, your rheumatology, or you need to have good connections with people,” said Barton. “It’s a lot of being a continual adult learner in order to meet the needs of your patients.”
Garrett aims to address the lack of primary care providers in his community with his MSU studies. The FNP program focuses on training primary care providers for local communities.
“They’re centered in training primary care providers to serve our state’s need for more quality access to quality care,” said Garrett.
Garrett, Barton, and the Family Health Care team continue to work towards building trust within the McBain community to positively impact patient outcomes. From educating new parents on best practices for teaching children to read to ensuring a patient has a cohesive care plan across all necessary providers, their community development actions continue to show success.
“When you see someone’s health improve, you see somebody getting greater mobility, improved function, you see how that ripple effect impacts their whole family,” said Barton. “So, family practice in a rural community is so fulfilling. You see the multi-generational impact of each change.”
