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Our Mission : Excellent Health
Written By: Jenny King | Issue: 2017/03 - March
Mission Community Primary Care at Highlands-Cashiers Hospital offers a variety of services to our area. Whether you choose to be seen in Highlands or in Cashiers, you will receive prompt and attentive care from one of their primary care providers.
Bethany Applebome, PA, is one of those providers, and she sees patients in Cashiers. Bethany studied at Duke University’s Physician Assistant Program, where she received her Master of Health Sciences degree. She also received an undergraduate degree in biology from Duke.
When asked what led her to become a physician assistant, she says, “I always had an interest in science and healthcare, so I pursued a degree in biology. After working in an unrelated field for a few years after graduating, I then took a job working in primary care clinical research. The doctor leading our group was a primary care physician and encouraged me to pursue a career as a PA. I worked with several PAs in this job and became excited to provide high quality care as they did.
One of the most important roles of a primary care provider is to provide preventive care against illness or disease. Examples of preventive care include cancer screenings (Pap smears to screen for cervical cancer, mammograms to screen for breast cancer, and colonoscopies to screen for colon cancer), blood pressure screenings and blood work to screen for heart disease risk, nutrition and exercise counseling, and vaccines.
Why is that so important?
“As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” Applebome says. She is well versed in the facts and notes it is generally much easier to prevent disease than to treat the disease once you have it. Preventive care can even save your life. Colonoscopies, the flu vaccine, even cardiovascular screenings are all part of preventive care.
Mission Health provides numerous primary care clinics across Western North Carolina, including right here in Cashiers and Highlands. They are here to help you with preventive care, chronic disease management, and sick visits, and they see people of all ages, including children.
For more information on preventive care and Mission Community Primary Care, give them a call at (828) 743-2491 or (828) 526-4346.
