“I feel comfortable with her,” says Deanna Conn, a resident of Owingsville. “When I see her it’s like seeing family and catching up.”
For seven years, Deanna has regularly visited physician assistant Carmela Fletcher-Green at Mt. Sterling Clinic. Carmela, 50, has been a PA for 21 years, nine of them in Mt. Sterling. She also sees patients at Windsor Care Nursing Home and the Post Clinic, a clinic that serves the uninsured and underinsured population in the area.
Her motto? “Keep patients healthy–one at a time.”
During office visits, Carmela gives patients her undivided attention. She often gives them her personal phone number so they can get answers when they need them. “It is so satisfying to know that you helped someone feel good about themselves,” she says.
Carmela’s dedication to medicine began in childhood. In high school, she volunteered 3,000 hours at Mary Chiles Hospital, now St. Joseph Mt. Sterling. Determined and with help from her community and high school, she earned a degree in biology and an additional Bachelor’s in physician assistant studies at University of Kentucky. “Choosing to be a PA has been a blessing to me,” she says.
A divorced parent of two daughters, Carmela advocates for all children, especially low-income children and those with disabilities. Her parents were factory workers in Mt. Sterling, where her family has lived for six generations. “We didn’t have a lot of money,” Carmela says. She credits the community with supporting her in school and beyond. “I want to see all children succeed to the best of their ability,” she says.
Carmela says she tells her daughters not to sit at the back of the classroom. “Always sit at the front because we didn’t always have the opportunity to do so,” she says.
The first African-American to sit on the Montgomery County Board of Education, Carmela also serves as the director of the Montgomery County 4-H youth leadership program, This Land is our Land.
Though her specific role in the community may change, Carmela is committed to continuing her service. ” I love what I do,” she says. “I know this is exactly what God called me to do.”