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Family nurse practitioner Melinda White returns to Oaklawn at Homer office

HOMER – The love of small towns has kept Melinda “Mindy” White rooted in the health-care field, and her work with patients in Albion, Olivet and Tekonsha has kept her well-acquainted with communities throughout the region.

Now the Sherwood resident, a family nurse practitioner, has joined the Oaklawn Medical Group’s office at 420 S. Hillsdale Road in Homer

White actually is re-joining the medical group, having served in its Albion and Tekonsha offices in past years.

“I grew up in Union City and still live close by – I know the area well,” she said. “And Homer kind of replicates that. There’s a real sense of community and a feeling that you’re serving the people – that you’re part of something.

“The nice thing about family practice is that, in a community like that, you see the patient, their kids, their grandparents – the whole family. And I like that.”

In 1997, the former Melinda Blowers was considering attending dental school, but a change of heart propelled her instead into the world of nursing.

“I had a nursing student that was with me when I gave birth to my first daughter. She opened my eyes to nursing – and that’s why I changed career paths,” White said.

“I never really knew what nurses did, and she talked to me about the different areas you could go into – and I thought that was really appealing. I liked the idea of working with babies, too!”

White has been married for 21 years to Michael White, who is a registered nurse in Oaklawn’s emergency room. They have three daughters – Bailee, Emma and Avery – and a son, Branden, who also is a registered nurse. Branden and Stephanie White have a daughter, Mckinley, of whom their grandmother is very proud.

In the family’s spare time, they enjoy boating, gardening and “traveling to anywhere” – which in the past has included the continental United States and the Caribbean. The family now are gearing up for a second trip to Europe.

White studied at Kellogg Community College in Battle Creek, where she graduated in 2000 with an associate degree in nursing. She went on to employment at Select Specialty Hospital in Battle Creek from 2000 to 2007.

Her studies continued, however, and White received a bachelor of science degree in nursing from the University of Michigan, graduating summa cum laude in 2005, and received her master’s degree in nursing from Michigan State University’s Family Nurse Practitioner Program in 2012.

White is certified in basic life support and is a member of the Michigan Council of Nurse Practitioners and the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.

During her years of education in nursing, White worked as a registered nurse for Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo, as a health occupations instructor at the Calhoun Area Career Center in Battle Creek under the auspices of the Calhoun Intermediate School District, and as a clinical instructor at Kellogg Community College.

White first joined the Oaklawn Medical Group as a family nurse practitioner in 2012, and now returns to Oaklawn from three years of service at Select Health P.C., in Coldwater.

“I’m coming back because I like the family atmosphere at Oaklawn,” White said. “I love the people who work there, along with the communities that I’ve served in the past and will be serving again.”