Heartland Health Care Clinic (HHCC) is pleased to announce that Karysa Reyer will be the new Director of Heartland Health Care Clinic on November 28, 2022.
Working in healthcare was never what Karysa imagined for herself. As a young woman she found her passion was more in journalism and editing. However, she soon found out how rewarding it could be working with people, “The positive affect you can have on someone’s life can make it all worth it, especially on the tough days,” she said. One might say that her very first job at 15 years old, working at Bankes Drug Store, helped steer her into healthcare. Even though she was running the old soda fountain shop that was located in the back of the store, the customer population probably consisted of several patients just leaving their doctor’s appointment coming in to pick up their prescriptions. Keeping her on the track for healthcare, while still in high school and after working at Bankes, Karysa found herself working in the kitchen at Village Manor.
Karysa continued to work PRN (as needed) at Village Manor even while working toward her Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) which she received from Brown Mackie College in Salina in 2010. After finishing this program, she began working at Lindsborg Rural Health Clinic as a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). After a few years of commuting from Salina, where she lived at the time, it made sense to take a position with Salina Family Healthcare Center. “I spent four years working with a diverse population and staff along with being part of growing new physicians. After that, I decided to make a total career change where I began working at the Birth Center at Salina Regional Health Center, she said.” It was during this time, Karysa furthered her education and received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) in 2017 through Southern New Hampshire University.
Memorial Health System considers it a big win having employees who grew up in the surrounding area and later return to become part of their healthcare family to make a long term investment in the community. Karysa joins this long, proud list. “We moved back almost three years ago now. I really wanted to work closer to home, and getting back into the clinic setting was something I had been considering for some time.” Her and her husband Terry were high school sweethearts. She attended Abilene High School, and was not far away at Solomon High School. They have two boys, ages eight and six, who are involved in sports and keep them active, especially when it comes to baseball. Their eight-year-old son plays for a travel team out of Salina, and their six-year-old will begin playing with the Abilene Bandits this spring. When they are not keeping busy with sports, the family likes to travel and go camping. “We try to make it a point to travel to a different state every summer,” she said. “We also just enjoy spending time with our other families.” Karysa and Terry also have three dogs and one acquired cat to help keep the household interesting. “We love living in Abilene. We love having a smaller community for our family where there are many opportunities for our children. I enjoy going to local businesses and seeing familiar faces, even ones I have not seen for years!”
Karysa has become familiar with HHCC over the last year as she has been working alongside Dr. Brian Holmes and Rachelle Sims, APRN. Making her way up the career ladder has been a dream for many years now. Karysa explained that after working in a few different clinic settings, as well as a hospital setting, she really enjoys building relationships with patients and staff, and being a part of a changing and growing culture as healthcare evolves. When the position for HHCC Director came open it seemed like the perfect opportunity to be a part of the ever-changing healthcare environment, and ensuring that HHCC is a great place to work. It was easy to apply for the position as it aligned with her dreams, and the encouragement she received from her coworkers helped her feel like she was making the right move. Currently, Karysa is a full time student at Western Governor’s University earning her Master’s Degree in Healthcare Leadership and Management. She hopes to complete this program in August of 2023, if not sooner. While she works to finish that goal, she will be tasked with learning her new role as the director. “I am excited to learn from other leaders and staff in the clinic. My goal as the new director, is to improve our team approach to healthcare in order to meet the demands of our community. In this new role I can empower staff members to work together to achieve this goal and many others. I want all community members to have access to care in our hometown, and be able to give back to the community I was raised in. I am just excited to be a part of Memorial Health System’s future as a whole entity!”