JEFFERSON, Iowa – Greene County Medical Center is welcoming back a provider many patients may already recognize, Kayla Promes, a Family Nurse Practitioner with extensive experience who will be joining the Family Medicine Clinic in mid-January. For Promes, the move represents both a professional and personal transition, “I was born and raised in Jefferson. I’m really close with my family and being so far away has really been hard,” Promes said. “This opportunity is perfect timing to come back and settle down in Jefferson.”
Promes served as an Outpatient Oncology Registered Nurse at Greene County Medical Center in 2021 and 2022, a role that earned her a reputation for effective communication, thoughtful patient education and the kind of empathetic presence patients remember long after treatment ends. Her return as a primary care provider marks the next chapter in a career defined by broad clinical training, national experience and a clear commitment to patient-centered care. A commitment that started naturally through exposure very early in her life. “My mom’s a nurse and so I remember as a kid going out to the hospital,” Promes explained. “I’ve always been a caregiver, when my siblings got sick I wanted to take care of them.” She noted becoming a provider also allowed her to blend interests. “I love education and thought of becoming a teacher, but in the role I’m in now, I get to educate patients too.”
Over the past eight years, Promes has practiced from coast to coast; from Stanford Hospital in California to Kaiser Permanente in Colorado and from Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. to the University of Minnesota. In her most recent role, she specialized in hematology and oncology care. She said these experiences as a travel nurse were formative. “They were probably some of the best years of my life,” she said.
Her clinical background includes over seven years of bedside nursing, more than two and half years as a nurse practitioner along with extensive training and building of expertise in complex diagnoses. Before earning her FNP credentials from Chamberlain University, Promes completed multiple clinical practicums at Greene County Family Medicine Clinic. These rotations, totaling more than 600 hours, gave her exposure to rural primary care. Even then, Promes saw herself returning to Greene County one day. “When I finished my preceptorship, I would have loved to work here, but there wasn’t an opening. When I saw there was one, it was the perfect opportunity to come back.”
Promes’ new role at the clinic allows her to bring her broad medical knowledge into the everyday primary care setting at a place she can call home. She emphasized her philosophy of care is centered around patients as individuals. “An approach that works for one patient may not work for another, and I want everyone to feel like they are heard,” she said.” Promes also wants the community to know who she is as a person and provider. “I’m really empathetic and very caring,” she explained. “My personality is more bubbly and I like getting to know my patients on a personal level.”
To schedule an appointment with Promes, contact the Family Medicine Clinic at 515-386-0500.