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Each day, medical professionals around the country are hard at work.

During the last week of September, time was taken to celebrate one particular group.

From Sept. 25-29, National Advanced Practice Provider Week was recognized.

“[It] recognizes all of the advanced practice providers. That includes Physician’s Assistants and Nurse Practitioners”, said Rachel Decoster, a doctor of nursing practice (DNP) with CHI Saint Joseph Medical Group – Primary Care. “I think healthcare just tries to increase awareness to the general population…who they are, where they work at, [and] what they can provide.”

According to the website nationalappweek.com, in addition to physician’s assistants and nurse practitioners, National APP Week also honors the contributions of other professionals, including certified registered nurse anesthetists, clinical nurse specialists, certified nurse midwives and certified anesthesiologist assistants.

In its mission statement, National APP Week “recognize[s] and celebrate[s] providers who are certified and licensed to assess, diagnose, treat, and manage illness, prescribe medications, perform clinical procedures, and conduct clinical research in management of the whole individual. This important group of providers elevate[s] the fields of medicine and nursing to ensure our patients and communities receive safe, high-quality, evidence-based care.”

In the last few years, while the roles of advanced practitioners may change at times, their significance to Winchester’s citizens has continued to reign true.

Long-time Clark County Sheriff Berl Perdue had quadruple bypass surgery completed in August 2020 after results obtained by Decoster revealed cause for concern.

“We had been monitoring multiple different laboratory values; he did have some history of diabetes and high cholesterol and high blood pressure that’s kind of what prompted me to run the electrocardiogram”, said DeCoster, adding that his history increased the risk of cardiovascular disease. “I recommended him to cardiology to get some further work-up.”

While Perdue acknowledged that he delayed the appointment at first, a conversation with a physician during his appointment soon changed his mind.

“He told me your two choices are you can have bypass surgery, or you can go home and have the heart attack you should’ve had and didn’t, and this one’s [going to] kill you,” Perdue recalled. “I said, ‘Well, let’s go have and do this bypass surgery.’”

Perdue acknowledged that, without the steps taken by Dr. DeCoster, it could’ve been a much different result.

“All my checkups are good. If it hadn’t been for Rachel [and others] starting the process and keeping an eye on me, then I probably would’ve had that heart attack,” Perdue said. “I’m just lucky I never had it.”

As a healthcare provider, the complement is rewarding for Decoster, who hopes to benefit the public further.

“I think it’s critical for everyone to know that taking care of your health is a top priority,” she said. “If you don’t take care of yourself well, then you might not be there to take care of someone else in the future. As advanced practice providers, we’re able to help patients; we highly encourage people to come in for their routine screenings or their regular follow-ups so that we can work with the patient on developing a holistic plan of care.”