Black Hills native joins Newcastle clinic

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
Family nurse practitioner Jess Whitney is the newest addition to the Monument Health Newcastle Clinic team, officially starting Feb. 12, serving both the Newcastle and Upton communities.  
Whitney, who had always wanted to be a nurse, met her husband, Casey, while attending high school in Hill City, South Dakota, and the couple decided to further their education in the local area. 
Whitney said she wanted to serve rural communities after her mother died because of the relationship she had with the small town physicians treating her mother through her illness. Her journey of service has landed her in Newcastle, and she said she is excited to begin seeing patients regularly.
Whitney received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from South Dakota State University in Rapid City, South Dakota. Meanwhile, her husband attended Western Dakota Tech in Rapid City to become an electrician. After graduation, the young nurse worked the float pool at the hospital in Rapid City before moving to Custer, South Dakota, to work at the hospital and clinic there. While in Custer, Whitney decided to go back to school online to become a nurse practitioner. 
“The fact that you could care for someone from the time they were born to when they decide to have a baby, all the way up until the end of life – that really hit home with me,” Whitney said, herself a mother of two. “I just love the small-town community feel and the idea of being able to follow a patient through life. 
Coworkers at the clinic have expressed their joy at having someone young and energetic join the team. 
“It is a breath of fresh air to have someone young and energetic join the team,” Lynnea Prell said. 
Dan Daly, the communication specialist for Monument Health, said that Whitney is a good fit for what the local clinic and the community were looking in new providers.