Celeste Williams, a nurse whose dedication led her to run for Congress

Celeste Williams has been a nurse for over 25 years. In 2003, she moved to Northwest Arkansas and, after completing her master’s degree in nursing, became a Family Nurse Practitioner working at Mercy Primary Care in Centerton, where she has been since 2010.

“I see patients from young to those advanced in years for chronic disease management and acute problems,” Celeste began. “My work runs the full spectrum of what you would see your primary care provider for. One moment I am refilling blood pressure medications or diagnosing respiratory illnesses. The next I am seeing someone who is struggling with anxiety or depression or seeking advice on wellness and disease prevention.”

Working on the front lines of healthcare has enabled Celeste to have a firsthand perspective on issues her patients face every day. One of those issues is the high cost of prescriptions. “People often do without rather than filling prescriptions that force them to choose between paying for food or housing or managing their chronic illness,” Celeste said. “In addition to medication costs, there are not enough specialty providers in Northwest Arkansas. Waiting months to a year for an appointment with a psychiatrist is unacceptable when a person is in crisis, it is also a long wait for an appointment with a rheumatologist. Those are the two I find to be the longest waits and it has been that way for years.”

Celeste also believes there are too few options for addiction treatment, especially for those who don’t have financial means. “If you are an addict,” Celeste said, “you do not always have a job. And in this country, healthcare is tied to employment.”

The way medical schools are funded is another concern of Celeste’s. The number of slots for training hasn’t changed in decades although the population has increased.

Celeste believes another huge issue facing Northwest Arkansas is the issue of senior care, combined with nursing shortages. “We have an aging population, not enough nurses,” she said. “And now an enormous amount of burnout amongst healthcare workers. I believe we are facing a growing nursing staffing crisis.”

Coming up to the 2020 elections, Celeste decided that just lamenting these healthcare matters was not enough. She decided to try to get herself into a position to do something about it. “I ran for Congress because far too many of the problems I saw were things I couldn’t write a prescription for,” she said. “It was an opportunity to reimagine what could be and work to affect change at the policy level. It’s much more fun to imagine what could be than to complain about what is.”

Healthcare insurance was an issue at the top of the list for Celeste. “So many people don’t have insurance or they are underinsured,” she said. “When they need Long Term Care (LTC) it is often difficult to get them that care. Medicare does not cover LTC, the patient has to have Medicaid, which requires them to deplete all their financial assets. This effectively strips any wealth they have accumulated from their life’s work and prevents them from passing it to the next generation.

“I also believe the health of people is affected more by social determinants of health than from what I can do for them in the clinic,” Celeste continued. “Where they live, job opportunities, access to clean air, safe places for children to play, good schools, a healthy diet, parents that are mentally well, all of these factors enter into the health of a person. While we do have most of that here in Northwest Arkansas, even in Benton County we still have 1 in 5 who are food insecure, most commonly affecting young children and senior citizens.”

Although Celeste was unsuccessful in her run for Congress, she continues to care for her patients at Mercy and support the healthcare community in Northwest Arkansas any way she can. “Working in healthcare is hard but very rewarding work,” she said. “The pressure of working through a pandemic really amplified a lot of problems that have been with us all along. As a nurse, I continue my personal mission to do all that I can to reduce the suffering in the person before me.”