By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
ONE FEATHER STAFF
Lisa Bernier, PA, has joined the staff of the Cherokee Diabetes Program as a diabetes specialist. She has worked the past several years in the urgent care and emergency room of the Cherokee Indian Hospital.
Lisa Bernier, PA, recently joined the staff of Cherokee Diabetes Program as a diabetes specialist. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather)
Bernier, originally from Maine, has lived in Bryson City since 1997 and worked for several years at Smoky Mountain Mental Health. From 2000-04, she worked with the GEAR UP program at Cherokee High School. She graduated from Emory Medical School in 2008 and is a licensed physician’s assistant.
Bernier said she hit the ground running at Cherokee Diabetes and is happy with the transition from emergency room care to diabetes care. “I had been working with less chronic, more immediate kinds of issues and there was never any follow-up and you didn’t get to know your patients really well. We would see them once and then maybe never see them again or only see them when they were in crisis.”
“I wanted something that has a little more consistency and follow-up and where I would get to know the community a little bit better.”
She said she is loving it at Cherokee Diabetes. “I have been seeing a lot of patients and my schedule is getting full pretty quick.”
During her spare time, Bernier enjoys being a member of the Smoky Mountain Roller Girls.
To make an appointment or for more information on Cherokee Diabetes program, call 554-6561.
