Kristen worked as a registered nurse for nine years prior to becoming a nurse practitioner. Although she thoroughly enjoyed her years in nursing, she wanted to continue her education to expand her knowledge base and broaden her role as a caregiver. “One of my favorite things as a nurse practitioner is being able to facilitate a greater understanding among my patients of the care they receive,” she explains. “This not only helps enhance compliance with medical regimens but also helps overcome their own personal barriers to better care.” Kristen always takes the time to listen carefully to her patient’s needs. “This really allows me to understand what obstacles they may have adhering to prescribed treatment plans and allows me to work with them to make sure they get the day-to-day care they need to improve their quality of life.” When she is not busy with patients Kristen enjoys staying as active as possible and working out. She also loves being outdoors, traveling, and spending time with her husband and son. She especially enjoys visiting the New England coast.

Although she originally started her career practicing in primary care, Dr. Karen Ekwueme is very happy to be seeing patients at ReadyMED. “One of the reasons I like urgent care is that it gives me a chance to interface with people who don’t always go to see their primary care physician,” she explains. “However, this gives me an opportunity to plant a seed in their mind about taking better care of their health and seeing their primary care provider more.”

Dr. Ekwueme is a big believer in partnering with her patients to ensure they receive care that’s right for them. “I think it’s important to understand what patients really want from their visit as opposed to just identifying a problem and telling them all about it. For instance, someone may come into the clinic because they have hypertension. Listening to them you may learn that the real reason they have high blood pressure is because they are having relationship problems and it’s causing stress. The more you know about people the better you are able to treat them.”

One of the things that Dr. Ekwueme enjoys the most about her job is connecting with patients. “I enjoy hearing stories from patients, and giving them a place that they can feel at ease with someone to confide in.” Dr. Ekwueme has long been interested in patient-centered care. She completed a fellowship in Integrative Medicine and is in the process of getting certification from the Institute for Functional Medicine. “Integrative medicine is an approach to care that revolves around the patient and addresses the full range of physical, emotional, social, spiritual and environmental influences that affect a person’s health,” she explains. “Functional medicine takes a whole body approach to care and incorporates lifestyle choices, disease prevention, as well as patient-centered treatment.”

When she is not busy helping patients, Dr. Ekwueme enjoys Chicago-style stepping, a traditional African-American ballroom style partner-dance. In addition, in the winter she likes to snowshoe and in the warmer months she likes to hike, kayak and horseback ride. Dr. Ekwueme also enjoys cooking, growing herbs and traveling.

Sarita Fage began her career in healthcare in 2003. While studying to become an EMT, she was also working as a home health aide taking care of a young woman with ALS. This experience helped her realize that healthcare was an ideal career choice for her. “When I was younger, I developed a strong interest in medicine and decided to pursue my career as a Physician Assistant several years later,” she explains.

Working at ReadyMED, Sarita enjoys the variety of cases she treats each day. She especially likes using her critical thinking and problem-solving skills to help her patients. Sarita loves interacting with her patients and educating them on their condition. “To provide the best possible care, it’s important to educate each patient so that they fully understand their diagnosis and treatment plan.”

Sarita believes it’s important to stay up-to-date with the latest advancements in medicine in order to provide patients with the highest level of care. “Some cases require more time and questioning, but in the end we all have the same goal – to provide proper patient care.” When she is not busy working at ReadyMED, Sarita enjoys playing the guitar, camping, reading and, most importantly, spending time with her family and friends.

For as long as she can remember, Dr. Sarah Ghabbour always wanted to be a pediatrician. “I just wanted to treat children, it’s always been my life-long dream,” she explains. “To tell you the truth, I could never imagine myself doing anything else.”

As a pediatric care physician at ReadyMED, Dr. Ghabbour likes being able to take care of all the different types of problems that children might have. “I like the satisfaction of being able to fix something and provide a solution quickly. The great thing about ReadyMED is that you can be seen the same day and find a resolution for what’s going on.”

When treating her patients, Dr. Ghabbour realizes that every child is part of a family and that the family is essential to good care. “I like working closely with parents and answering their questions and concerns so I can provide the guidance needed for proper treatment during the course of an illness. Good communication is really essential in pediatric medicine.”

Dr. Ghabbour had a child during her medical residency and feels that has helped her better understand the challenges that mothers often deal with. “I think it makes me more empathetic with parents and allows me to better understand the struggles they go through such as sleep deprivation, difficulties with breast-feeding, and other issues since I have experienced them myself.”

In her spare time, Dr. Ghabbour enjoys ice-skating, hiking, soccer, reading novels and listening to a good podcast. She also loves spending time with her family.

A graduate of Westfield State College and Bay Path University, Ryan worked as an EMT for a number of years before becoming a Physician Assistant (PA). Coming from a medical family, Ryan says it wasn’t surprising that he choose healthcare for a career. “I have always been involved in the medical field and seeing what my stepmother was able to do as a PA drove me to do the same,” he explains. Ryan chose to work at ReadyMED because he enjoys the wide variety of concerns he gets to treat. “I enjoy the fast-paced environment, which allows me to use my different skills helping patients each day.” In his spare time Ryan enjoys watching sports, working out at the gym, playing with his favorite pets, and spending time with friends and family.

A graduate of MCPHS University, Inna has been a practicing physician assistant since 2011. She became an advanced practitioner because she loves medicine, learning about the human body, and working as part of the team to help patients.

Inna believes strongly in educating each patient about their condition. “I feel that if patients understand everything that is happening and what is wrong with them, they are more likely to follow the treatment guidelines of the provider,” she explains. Inna also works hard to help patients understand how their lifestyle can impact their overall health. “I feel that simple lifestyle changes can greatly improve a patient’s medical condition and always encourage patients to make changes when they are appropriate.”

When she is not busy helping patients, Inna enjoys spending time with family, reading, and traveling as much as possible.