Midwest Express Clinic’s Danielle Keller: Nurse Practitioner, Care-giver, Disney Lover
Originally published by Lauren Grasham on valpo.life on February 11, 2022
Midwest Express Clinic (MEC) Nurse Practitioner Danielle Keller dreamed of working in the medical field ever since she was a child. Always interested in medicine, her interest was fueled by watching medical shows even at a young age.
“I’ve always been intrigued by medicine,” she said. “When I was a little girl my favorite TV show was ‘Rescue 911.’ I was never a cartoon girl because I was always into the medical shows.”
As time went on Keller also quickly realized she enjoys helping others and saw healthcare as the perfect field to put this passion into practice.
“I love helping people; I just want to take care of everybody,” she said.
Keller came to MEC when a friend of hers mentioned there was a job opening as a nurse practitioner at the clinic. After working for 10 years in emergency medicine, she saw this as the perfect opportunity to continue working in healthcare while in an ever-changing work atmosphere that she absolutely loves. She also appreciates the fact that MEC has offered her substantial career growth through taking on a different area of healthcare, and is thankful that MEC has given her this opportunity to learn and grow in a career she thoroughly enjoys.
Keller said she thrives in an environment where no two days are ever the same. While some may deem such a place as too much, Keller enjoys the ever-changing environment and credits this to the success of her career. She is able to work with confidence and at ease knowing she’s doing her part to help make a difference in people’s lives.
“People are like ‘how do you do it?’ But when I go to work, my 12 hours at MEC are my easiest 12 hours compared to having five kids at home. As chaotic as many people as we see there, this is my 12 hours. I know what I’m doing. I’m comfortable here. This is going to be easy,” she said.
Currently, Keller works at MEC’s Hammond location, but has also worked at the Crown Point and Munster locations. She also fills in as needed at other locations in Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana as well.
“It’s fun to work with newer people like me,” she said. “And hopefully at some point I’ll know everybody that I work with because there’s so many great people both here and in our Chicagoland offices, too, and it’s nice to get around everywhere and go, ‘Hi, everybody.’”
When not at work, Keller is an avid Disney supporter, and when she’s not watching her favorite Disney movie, “Aladdin,” she can sometimes be found at Disney World in Orlando, Fla. with her husband and five kids. She said she tries to go three to four times a year and that you don’t have to be a kid to get in on all the fun.
“I love Disney with my kids, but also with just me and my husband, too. We just go in as adults and become 10 years old again. People either love it or hate it, but we definitely love it. I don’t understand how anyone doesn’t enjoy it,” she said.
To Keller, working at MEC has been a Disney dream in and of itself.
“When I started there, they always talked about how important it is for us to give patients a Disney experience; to just show people that you care,” she said. “It’s a very unique training experience. Our priority is to make sure that everybody is safe, but it’s also all about giving people a wonderful experience. We’re not just some office where you just walk in, get a prescription, and walk out. It’s all about building rapport, building relationships, and making sure people feel comfortable because you don’t find that in medicine all the time. That was another thing that just pulled me into this place. It’s like a perfect fit.”
For more information on Midwest Express Clinic, visit https://midwestexpressclinic.com/.
