FOR OVER two decades, Advanced Nurse Practitioner Saharra Jewell has served the Coffee County community in women’s health. For many, her office at Amani Women’s Health Center is much more than an occasional obligation. It is a place to see a friend, to pray with a fellow believer, and to navigate life alongside a trusted confidant.
Jewell grew up knowing she would go into the medical field. With allergies and asthma sending her to the doctor’s office and an aunt working as a registered nurse, the doctor’s office became a place she enjoyed. In particular, Jewell was interested in labor and delivery, which led to women’s health as a whole. She got her master’s in women’s health at Vanderbilt University and began working in Coffee County in 2002 at just 26 years old.
“I really enjoyed the thought of nursing,” Jewell said. “I worked in labor and delivery for a year as well as the newborn nursery for a year and really wanted just to learn more.”
The whole lifespan of women’s health interested her, from adolescence to menopause and everything that comes in between. Having begun her career as a young adult, Jewell found herself growing up as a health care provider alongside her patients. After two decades of working in the community, some of her patients became acquaintances, some friends, and some even co-workers. The result is that while she lives in Murfreesboro, she considers Coffee County her second home.
“We’ve kind of gone through this lifespan together,” Jewell said. “It’s just been very rewarding to go through that and help these women on a daily basis through all their aspects of life.”
The motto of Amani is “serve the patient, serve the patient, serve the patient,” Jewell said, and she has taken that statement to heart. Serving the community is the most rewarding part of her job, and despite the bureaucratic challenges that come with the medical field Jewell said she loves her work and knows she chose the right profession. Her passion has spread to others in her family, as her oldest daughter is going through nursing school as well.
“I just love continuing to see that nursing generation grow, especially through her,” Jewell said.
Jewell also loves the opportunities she has in a Christian private practice. She and her co-workers try to incorporate their faith, praying for patients as well as helping them physically.
“I think that’s just really awesome and shows truly how much we do care for our patients,” Jewell said. “It’s not just a ‘J-O-B.’”
That perspective is almost certainly how Jewell fosters such a good relationship with her clients. When you are serving friends, family, and fellow community members, is it really work? GN
Find Saharra Jewell at Amani Women’s Health Center in Manchester and Tullahoma.
