Meet Katrina Fernandez! She is a family nurse practitioner working at our Mercy Health – Delhi Primary Care office in Cincinnati, OH.
“As a clinician, my team and I provide medical care and support to the West Side community,” Katrina shares. “We look to promote patient advocacy, health education, resource referrals, risk reduction as well as safe and effective access to care in this area.”
While growing up in West Virginia, Katrina was close to her grandmother who was a country doctor. Watching her care for the underserved population there left a lasting impact on Katrina.
“There was such a need for rural physicians in the 1980s that my grandmother moved 8,500 miles to run a black lung clinic in Cedar Grove,” she shares. “My grandmother taught me that people deserve healthy and safe lives regardless of where they were or their lot in life.”
Over time, Katrina found herself gravitating toward opportunities that would allow her to help close gaps in health care disparities.
“I have worked as a pediatric ICU nurse, a clinical instructor, medical missionary and a board member of a nonprofit because there was always a need to connect someone to a healthier life,” she says. “Mercy Health gave me the space and the resources to grow this vision in the Cincinnati community.”
Patients are challenged in many ways, whether it be emotionally, financially or physically. However, these challenges should not determine the quality of health care they receive. And Katrina is happy to guide all individuals through their health journeys.
Katrina’s responsibilities include ordering, performing and interpreting diagnostic tests, diagnosing and treating acute and chronic conditions including infections, injuries, asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure as well as consulting and working with an interdisciplinary team of specialists to manage a patient’s overall care.
“I encourage my patients to take an active role in collaborating with me on their health,” she shares. “Teaching people to tune into their bodies and taking inventory of their health is important in helping me identify health conditions that could be potentially problematic in the future.”
As a family nurse practitioner, Katrina treats not only individual patients but, in some cases, entire families.
“I enjoy treating whole families and being able to bring continuity into their lives,” she shares. “Navigating the health care system should not feel like a scary and confusing maze. It should have a familiarity like home. Building trusting and compassion-driven relationships with my patients is an important aspect in keeping the whole family unit healthy.”
Our ministry proudly operates on the understanding that we as God’s people are called to demonstrate love and sacrifice as an outward sign of God’s presence in our lives. This mission, which Katrina identifies with, is grown through community outreach and the collective commitment to offering a healthier and spiritually enriching path forward.
“Mercy Health invests in their communities with school-based health clinics, specialty wellness clinics, enhancing graduate education and engaging philanthropic endeavors through the ministry’s foundation,” Katrina says.
And finally, Katrina shares that in her office, success is shared with her entire care team.
“I’m grateful for the fantastic support system I have with my clinic staff and colleagues,” she says. “We keep each other accountable, but also show up to help each other. My colleagues consistently gift me with their time, energy and knowledge that improve my own practice and the lives of our patients. Optimal patient care truly takes a village.”
Learn more about the primary care services we offer at Mercy Health.
