MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! When Angelia Sakyi-Agyekum, PA (’18), first learned about the physician assistant (PA) profession, she was already married with two children. Because she was raised in a strict religious faith, she was not encouraged to go to college, as the church believed this would take her away from her faith. Despite this, she pursued an undergraduate degree in transportational logistics. After meeting her husband and moving away from the church, her eyes began to open to a world of career possibilities, and she began preparing to attend either dental or medical school. Then, her husband—a pharmacist—told her about the PA profession. She shadowed some local physicians to see if medicine was right for her. Having completed all the prerequisites, she applied and was accepted to the Nova Southeastern University Physician Assistant Program in Fort Myers, Florida. The program’s mission aligns closely with the values Sakyi-Agyekum has always cherished. Because of her faith and commitment to giving back to her community, she was aware of the challenges faced by medically underserved and disadvantaged populations. Consequently, she was grateful to be in a program that encouraged her to give back to those populations. When she started the PA program, SakyiAgyekum had no plans to open her own clinic one day. However, her husband is from Ghana, and the people of Ghana are very entrepreneurial. They had attempted establishing other businesses in the past, but this idea felt different. Consequently, they decided to open an urgent care clinic, with Sakyi-Agyekum at the helm, and to copromote it with a pharmacy her husband would work at and manage. She began seeking a physician to supervise the urgent care clinic and reached out to her network of friends. “Once people know your dreams and aspirations, they want to help you,” Sakyi-Agyekum said. With the help of supportive friends and lots of hard work, Coastal Med Urgent Care opened on November 6, 2019, in Fort Myers. Sakyi-Agyekum worked seven days a week to make the clinic profitable. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Initially, she had to cut half her staff, which was painful, as they had become like family members to her. By coincidence, Sakyi-Agyekum and her husband had purchased a rapid antigen testing machine that could process the newly approved COVID-19 tests. Suddenly, she was able to rehire the workers she laid off and double her staff, performing more than 250 COVID tests a day. That was five years ago, and they have been growing ever since. The clinic sees primary care patients, offers telemedicine, and serves as a stopgap between the emergency room and other primary care doctors or specialists. Weekends are filled with patients from the nearby, rural areas of LaBelle and Alva seeking care for acute and acute-onchronic conditions. Additionally, the clinic is a valuable site for those without health insurance who self-pay. Sakyi-Agyekum is also serving as a preceptor for NSU's PA program. Additionally, she allows pre-PA students to shadow her in the clinic and has hired several of her classmates and other alumni to work at Coastal Med Urgent Care. NSU Fort Myers is proud to call Sakyi-Agyekum an alumna and a homegrown success story. Mission accomplished indeed! Department of Physician Assistant—Fort Myers Angelia Sakyi-Agyekum at her clinic in Fort Myers COVER IMAGE Sakyi-Agyekum observes second-year PA student Hayley Hartwell as she examines a patient. 1
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDE4MDg=