SIOUX CENTER, IOWA – Stefanie Ayala desires to serve the people who live in the community where she grew up in.
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| Stefanie Ayala has assumed her position as a medical assistant/interpreter at Promise Community Health Center in Sioux Center. She hopes her positive personality will help patients have a great experience at the health center. |
And that’s why she’s excited about her new role as a medical assistant/interpreter at Promise Community Health Center in Sioux Center.
“I believe it’s so crucial that the people in this community feel confident and welcome when they come to our health center, especially our Spanish-speaking community members,” Stefanie said. “I can imagine I would be reluctant to seek health care if I felt like I couldn’t communicate with my health-care professional.”
Stefanie lived in Hull as a child and graduated from Sioux Center High School in 2008. A few years later, she went on to Western Iowa Tech Community College in Sioux City, where she earned an associate’s degree in police science in 2014.
She served a summer internship in 2014 as a park ranger for the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks at Angostura State Park in Hot Springs. She then worked as a correctional officer at the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls, SD, for a year and as a casino security office in Las Vegas, NV, for another year before moving back to northwest Iowa.
Even though her previous experience primarily has been in the law enforcement field, she dealt with many medical situations as a first responder. Therefore, she thought working at Promise would be a good opportunity for her.
Stefanie hopes she can bring “tons of positivity” to her position so that patients will have a great experience and will want to come back to the health center for care.
“I’m the epitome of a bubbly and positive person,” she said. “You can always catch me with a smile on my face or laughing. I can always get a smile or a laugh out of a patient that I am assisting. I believe it’s important when a patient can relax and feel comfortable at our clinic because, that way, they are more apt to discuss any issue and be more open to recommendations and advice from the medical professionals.”
She has been impressed by Promise.
“It is a great organization,” Stefanie said. “It has opened its doors to everyone in the community. Promise is like that one neighbor you can always count on no matter what.”
Promise Community Health Center of Sioux Center is the only Federally Qualified Health Center serving the far northwest corner of Iowa. Promise provides medical, prenatal, dental, vision and behavioral health services. To learn more, visit www.promisechc.org and watch this video. To read more Promise news, visit promisechcnews.blogspot.com.
MORE ABOUT STEFANIE:
Stefanie Ayala lives in Boyden and has an 8-year-old daughter, Paola. In her spare time, she loves reading, traveling and spending time outdoors.
