STHS’s Kira Smith is back where she belongs, caring for her neighbors in St. Tammany
‘I think that when you grow up in the South, you’re kind of bonded to your family, and my family’s all here. St. Tammany Parish has always felt like home to me,’ said Nurse Practitioner Kira Smith, who will be practicing out of St. Tammany Health System’s new Express Care clinic in Covington. (Photo by Tim San Fillippo / STHS)
By Mike Scott, mscott@stph.org
When the opportunity came along to head up St. Tammany Health System’s new Express Care walk-in clinic in Covington, Nurse Practitioner Kira Smith jumped at it – and for a good reason: It brought her back home.
“I grew up in St. Tammany Parish,” she said. “My parents moved over here when I was about 5. I grew up in Slidell, graduated from Northshore High School.
“I think that when you grow up in the South, you’re kind of bonded to your family,” she added. “And my family’s all here. St. Tammany Parish has always felt like home to me.”
Even for college, Smith didn’t stray far. She’s an LSU Tiger, having earned her bachelor of science in nursing from LSU School of Nursing in New Orleans in 1998. From there, she gained experience in critical care and perioperative settings before enrolling in a master’s degree program at SLU in Hammond.
In spring of 2019, she earned her degree as a family nurse practitioner, laying the groundwork for her return to St. Tammany.
Beginning Oct. 12, she began putting all that experience to work at St. Tammany Health System’s newly opened Express Care clinic.
Located at 71338 Louisiana 21 just south of the health system’s main hospital campus and next door to the health system’s newly relocated pediatrics practice, Express Care offers all the services one would expect from a traditional doctor’s office but with the nontraditional hours of 2 to 10:30 p.m. weekdays.
Beginning in November, it will also operate from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends.
Given those hours, and given the fact that Express Care welcomes walk-ins, Smith’s new job is squarely in her wheelhouse, presenting a variety of patients with a variety of conditions.
“I’ve taken care of patients of all ages, and that will be the case at Express Care,” Smith said. “I thought this would be a nice, all-encompassing position with all sorts of patients.”
When she’s not working, Smith does typical South Louisiana things, like fishing with her husband. (“We call them ‘boat rides,’” she said with a laugh, suggesting the fish aren’t always as eager to be caught as she’d like.)
But as much as anything, she’s excited about being a St. Tammany Health System nurse practitioner and is eager for the opportunity to care for her neighbors.
“I really take pride in being a nurse practitioner, and I enjoy taking care of people,” she said. “I think it’s very rewarding to be able to give back to the community that I grew up in.”
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The STHS Express Care clinic can be contacted by calling 985-898-4001.
Please note: St. Tammany Health System’s Express Care clinic is not an emergency care facility. If you’re experiencing a life-threatening emergency, call 911 to arrange transport to our hospital Emergency Department in Covington or visit our standalone emergency facility in Mandeville.