Angelica Smith (Photo by Jesse Peters courtesy VCU)
Angelica Smith is a Petersburg resident on a mission: Trying to make a dent in the rate of diabetes, hypertension and obesity in one of Virginia’s sickest communities.
It’s a complicated goal and can seem overwhelming, at times. Petersburg is No. 133 out of 133 counties and municipalities in a recent health ranking of by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Petersburg is the cellar dweller in terms of health behaviors such as obesity and smoking and has the highest number of residents who report that they are in only poor to fair health in the state.
But she is determined. “Petersburg is where I live,” says Smith, a Marine Corps veteran and a Puerto Rican native who has lived in the city since 2012.
She’s also one one of 11 students set to receive their degrees this evening as the first graduates from Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Nursing’s nursing practice doctorate program. She’s using her knowledge from that program, and drawing on her undergraduate and master degree’s in nursing for her work.
“The new program aligns perfectly with what I want to do, improving health quality,” she says.
Smith is a nurse practitioner for the Southside Physicians Network, a free clinic in the sprawling Tindall concrete facility in Dinwiddie County. She’s also a volunteer with the nonprofit Pathways (the former Petersburg Urban Ministries), and with the Healthy Living and Learning Center in the Petersburg Public Library.
Smith says she grew up in a similar environment, coming from a poor family that relied on the local health department for health care needs. Simple matters would often entail spending most of a day just waiting to be seen. At a young age, she told her mother she wanted to become a doctor so she could take care of her and so her mom wouldn’t have to face the ordeal of waiting for care.
Now, she notes that Petersburg residents in need also face obstacles in obtaining affordable health care. There are more services available in Richmond, but Petersburg residents also need additional options.
“We need to bring that kind of care to the community,” she says.
Smith served 10 years with the Marines and worked as a computer technician. Nursing appealed to her, she says, because of it offered a breadth of opportunities. She worked in surgical nursing before switching to community health.
“Nursing is very diverse,” she says. “It doesn’t limit you.”
But in the face of great need, limits need to be set.
Smith found that 20 percent of hospital readmissions in the community stemmed from complications of hypertension. Targeting hypertension and the associated problems of obesity and diabetes became a focus.
“If we can hone that down, even a 3 or 4 percent drop, that is a great number,” she says.
