Colleen McEvoy moved from the Bay Area to Bishop, Calif., on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada, for the hiking, climbing, and mountain serenity. What she found was purpose in providing care as a nurse practitioner to an underserved community and establishing a much-needed clinic for teens. “Rural medicine is challenging, and it’s crucial because where are these people going to go if we’re not here?”
Caring Without Judging
McEvoy was raised a world away, in New York City. Receiving care from an especially helpful nurse practitioner at Planned Parenthood placed her on a path toward the UCSF School of Nursing. “My UCSF professors taught us to respect our patients with a nonjudgmental attitude, plus a determination to keep advancing our skills,” McEvoy says.
Teaching Adolescents to Advocate
Her first nursing job was at a school-based health center in Oakland, part of La Clínica de La Raza. “It became my dream to start a school-based health center myself,” she says. That dream took shape with the founding of the Bronco Clinic at Bishop Union High School, which provides a range of student health services – from athlete physicals to reproductive care and mental health help that students can seek on their own. “We teach adolescents the lifelong lesson of how to access health care themselves,” she says.
Building Community
Before the Bronco Clinic was approved, some were wary of McEvoy’s aim to provide birth control and similar medication to students. Now, she’s helped so many people that she’s seen as a health hero. “We’ve been here for a long time” she says, “and my community is now really supportive.”
