2015 Gold Medalist ~ Non-Hospital Based Care

Kimberly Fields, RN, MSN, FNP, Harris County Public Health and Environmental Services

Kimberly Fields will tell you that nursing chose her. After starting college as an accounting major and working in business for a time, she returned to school in nursing, finishing her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Prairie View A&M University in 1992 as class vice president and a four-semester Dean’s List honoree.

“Nursing is in my DNA,” Kimberly says. “My grandmother, who was born in 1894, was a nursing midwife and delivered babies in the Richmond-Rosenberg area. She had six daughters, and all of them, including my mother, became nurses. When I look back on my legacy, it seems I was predestined to become a nurse.”

As Tuberculosis Program nurse practitioner and nurse case manager supervisor in the Department of Disease Control and Clinical Prevention at Harris County Public Health and Environment Services (HCPHES), Kimberly advocates for patients with tuberculosis. “I love being able to breathe life back into a patient who’s depressed after being diagnosed with tuberculosis and let them know that there is hope, that they’ll beat tuberculosis and that they’ll be able to resume a normal life,” she says. “It’s a wonderful thing to encourage them to continue their treatment and to see them cured.”

A nurse for 23 years, Kimberly has worked in public health for the last 21. Her first job with the Harris County Hospital District was as a high-risk ante- and postpartum staff nurse. She joined HCPHES in 1994, and after holding several leadership positions, transitioned to the Community Health Services Division where she joined the Tuberculosis Program as a nurse case manager. At about the same time, she completed her Master of Science in Nursing and family nurse practitioner degree at Prairie View A&M, where she was class president, on the Dean’s List and inducted into the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.

In 2004, with an advanced mid-level nursing certification on her CV, Kimberly was promoted to the position of nurse practitioner, where she began treating both tuberculosis patients and others receiving care within the Community Health Services Division. During the last decade, she received several more promotions, leading to her current position.

“Ms. Fields provides mentorship and guidance to nurses within the department and often provides clinical care outside of regular clinic hours and in patients’ homes to ensure that their needs are met,” wrote her nominators Aisha Haynie, MD, MPA, chief of disease control and medical epidemiology, Jannell Pesquera, RN, MHA, tuberculosis program manager, and Brian Arenare, MD, MBA, MPH, director of the Disease Control and Prevention Division. “She is known for her big smile and has a hug for everyone, including her patients, and exudes compassion and empathy. Her patients often make unannounced visits to the clinic just to chat or offer a hug.”

Within the Texas tuberculosis community, Kimberly has gained significant recognition, receiving the Texas State Health Department’s 2012 Certificate of Appreciation for her participation on an expert panel. Prior to this, she participated in a 2007 mass public health screening for hepatitis A. She is a nine-year member of the Infection Control and Safety Committee, and has participated in many nursing peer reviews.

As a woman and a nurse practitioner, she is a strong advocate for women’s health. “If the woman is healthy, the household will be healthy,” she says. “If we give women the knowledge and tools they need to be healthy, we’ll have a healthy community. From my patients I’ve learned to be a good listener and to pay attention not only to what is said but also to what is not being said. I take every opportunity to learn from my patients and to motivate them to help themselves.”

Kimberly also finds motivation in her faith. “I know that I’m nothing without the power of God in my life. I realize that every opportunity I have is a chance to touch a life and make a difference. My faith and the awesome team I work with at Harris County motivate me every day to do my best for my fellow man.”

A wife and mother for 25 years, she is also the primary caregiver for her 90-year-old mother, who lives in her home. She serves as a deaconess at First Metropolitan Church, where she organizes health fairs as the coordinator for the Health and Wellness Ministry. Her friends and colleagues joke that Kimberly is so passionate about health that she turned her daughter’s recent engagement party into a two-for-one event, using the occasion to teach about breast cancer and distribute informational pamphlets.

She looks forward to the day that tuberculosis, the world’s second leading cause of infectious death, will be eradicated globally. “While tuberculosis is on the decline in the United States, there are 22 countries that carry the burden of most of the world’s TB,” she says. “We will continue to work daily to eradicate tuberculosis, one patient at a time.”

Kimberly doesn’t foresee retirement from nursing. “I think you can always find a way to give back to the community as a resource. As nurses we have the responsibility to pour back into the lives of other nurses. We’re busy in the workplace but should take time to precept students. We should not only care for our patients but for our coworkers and other nurses. It’s important always to reach for even more knowledge, to be innovative thinkers, and to not settle for the norm.”

As an Excellence in Nursing Gold Medalist, Kimberly has come full circle with the Good Samaritan Foundation (GSF). As a young undergraduate nursing student, she received a GSF scholarship. “It was a $500 scholarship, which back then was a lot of money,” she says. “I don’t think I really understood the total impact of it but I knew it was an investment in my life. Because the Foundation invested in my life, I’m now able to invest in the lives of others, which is the best reward.

“All the lives that are important to me and all the hands I’ve been fortunate to pass through have a part in this award,” she says. “Without being touched by others, I could never have received this award and achieved all the things I’ve achieved. I’m so grateful to the faculty at Prairie View A&M, to the administrative staff at Harris County, for the support of my coworkers, for my parents and family, and for all those who have been along this journey with me.”