Kayla Wilt found her true calling after a lifetime of lessons in perseverance
By George Berkheimer
There’s no simple formula for success or finding a meaningful career, but perseverance is always a part of the equation. That’s the lesson that Kayla Wilt has taken to heart in her own life, and one she readily shares with others.
Wilt is currently a nurse practitioner for the Hyndman Area Health Center, and her duties there are anything but routine, ranging from family medicine to urgent care related service.
Born and raised in Fulton County, Wilt met her husband while waiting tables in a Breezewood sports bar to put herself through nursing school at the Allegany College of Maryland’s Bedford County campus.
“He has a beef farm and two finishing hog barns,” she said, activities that replaced the family dairy business to help the Wilts transition to a more sustainable operation. “We do crop farming as well and we’re starting a grain operating business. I help out on the farm whenever I can.”
Unanticipated challenges
Wilt’s career started in the Army Reserves, a consolation because there were no active duty spots available. She spent eight years assigned to a Military Police unit at the Letterkenny Army Depot in Chambersburg, and it was during that time that she decided to pursue a nursing degree.
“I didn’t think it was something I was going to enjoy at first, but I’m very driven and give my full self to whatever I’m doing,” she said.
Tragically, while attending nursing school, Wilt lost one of the twins she was carrying in her 35th week and delivered a week later.
That’s when the bottom dropped out for her, but it also affected her in a way she hadn’t anticipated.
“I felt unheard and felt that my son might not have passed if a provider had treated me as a patient and not a machine,” she said. “I honestly stepped away from medicine at that time because I was very depressed.”
A cousin who had joined Wilt in her military enlistment ultimately convinced her to return to nursing school.
Because of that experience, Wilt said she believes patients when they tell her something’s wrong or they just don’t feel right.
“They know their bodies better than I do and I will stand with them every step of the way to get an answer because I hear them,” she said. “It brought me back and made me better at what I do, and I believe it has an effect on the outcomes in the patients I see and treat.”
After receiving her Licensed Practical Nurse certification, she began working in the Fulton County Medical Center’s Long Term Care Unit before transferring to a Medical Progressive Care unit in Altoona where she assisted with cardiac cases.
Later, Wilt moved to the pre-, inter-, and post-operative settings at UPMC Bedford.
“I eventually went to the weekend program at UPMC Bedford’s Emergency Room, and that’s where I realized I love the fast-paced emergency medicine and urgent care settings,” she said. “The pace of family medicine is slower, but I enjoy being able to jump into a situation knowing I can make a difference.”
Making a difference
Wilt has known from an early age that she wanted to chart her own course.
“I took a phlebotomy course through my vo-tech program in McConnellsburg while everybody else was going through the Certified Nursing Assistant program because I wanted to be different,” she said.
Looking ahead now, Wilt said her next move might involve teaching.
“I’m a preceptor for students, and I enjoy teaching them and giving them some direction when they come to HAHC for work experience,” she said.
Sometimes, she acknowledged, her life seems like a whirlwind when she looks back.
“I don’t consider myself having the typical rags to riches story, but I truly did come from nothing,” Wilt said. “I had a single working mother who tried to provide everything for me, however she could, and I’ve taken that to heart. I thank her for making a place for me to better myself and now be in a position where I’m able to give back and help others in a way that they can’t help themselves.”
Wilt said she enjoys getting to know her patients and their background stories.
“I let them know they are a big part of my life,” she said. “I truly take their stories home with me and think about them constantly. Every patient I cross paths with leaves a mark on my heart.”
Wilt credits Kathy Kendall, her McConnellsburg Middle School physical education teacher, with making a big difference in her life.
“She said, ‘We will never use the word can’t,’ so I don’t believe there is anything I can’t do because of her,” she said.
Wilt has shared her personal story on occasion with patients who felt defeated.
“I don’t want people to think, ‘Oh, you’re a health care provider, everything must be easy for you,’” she said. “I want them to know there’s something better out there for them, too, and they have to put their mind to it to chase after it.”