Kala Hillery has been an Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner since 2012, and a nurse since 1996, having begun nursing as a candy striper and then a nurse’s aide. She obtained her associates degree as a Registered Nurse, with Phi Beta Kappa honors, at Garden City Community College, and her Masters of Nursing at the University Of Kansas School Of Nursing. A Scott City Kansas native, she has three grown children, one of whom is a nurse, and one of whom is a nurse practitioner. The third studied computers, all studied in Hays, KS. She has one granddaughter, who just graduated high school, and Kala longs for more grandchildren.

Kala loves her Kansas heritage and would not live anywhere else, but enjoys vacationing where there are oceans, as she loves to swim, scuba dive and snorkel. She enjoys horseback riding, gardening, and being out on the farm, as well as scrapbooking, photography, reading and traveling. Most of all, she enjoys rescuing animals.

Kala believes in community and the importance of mental well-being and social, spiritual, and mental health as a foundation of physical health. She believes in a foundation of fresh air and movement and inclusion of healthful food choices into a daily diet to improve health and well-being. She believes life is about lots of little improvements and choices to make our lives happier! Her belief is “try the best you can, and the worst you can do is not completely succeed. Then, just keep trying until you do, and be as nice to yourself as you are to others”. She has noticed that by being helpful, you often find yourself helped. She noted this helpful spirit when in Ashland prior to coming to work at AHC, and is excited to join the community and is thankful to have been so welcomed!