Amy Gammel of Winona is first and foremost a mom.
The Mathiston native shares three children, Faith, Mary Hope, and Will, with husband, Dr. DeWayne Gammel. When she is not working as a nurse practitioner for Winona Family Practice, she is spending time with her children.
“My kids, they are actually what keeps me going,” Gammel said. “And of course, I love DeWayne with all my heart.”
Motherhood is not only central in her life thus far, but it has also marked the career path she continues on today.
Gammel graduated as valedictorian from East Webster High School in 1993 and continued her studies at Mississippi University for Women, where she earned a bachelor's degree in nursing in 1998. She worked as an emergency medical technician throughout her years in college.
“I’ve been working in emergency medicine a long time,” she said.
In Dec. 1999, she married DeWayne Gammel, and shortly after, she started school to become a family nurse practitioner.
“Faith came along, and because I had complications [with the pregnancy] I withdrew,” Gammel said.
Two years later, Gammel began the nurse practitioner program again, but she learned she was expecting for the second time, and withdrew from the program. A few years later, after she began the program for the third time, she once learned she was expecting her third child and was forced to withdraw.
Over the years, Gammel gained practical experience while working as a registered nurse in the emergency department at North Mississippi Medical Center in Eupora, even earning her national certification as an emergency nurse.
“[Being nationally certified] makes you an expert-level nurse in that area,” Gammel said.
While her husband was in medical school, Gammel worked at St. Dominic Hospital in Jackson in the emergency department. When she was expecting her second child, she transferred to the labor and delivery department, where she stayed until 2006, eventually getting her national certification as a labor and delivery nurse.
In 2009, DeWayne Gammel accepted a position as a general practitioner in Winona at Tyler Holmes Memorial Hospital, heading up the new Crossroads Family Medicine.
“Everyone was so welcoming when we came here,” Gammel said.
Initially, after settling in Winona, Gammel opted to be a stay-at-home mother, but after a few years, in 2014, she accepted the position as school nurse at Winona Elementary School, and once again, she earned her national certification as a school nurse.
“I helped create the wellness policy at the school,” Gammel said. “I created an isolation kit and a diabetic kit. I prepared for anything [at the school]. Part of that was from my experience in the ER.”
Gammel said she loved serving as a school nurse, so much so, she has kept her national certification.
In 2019, Gammel decided to return to nurse practitioner school, and she graduated from the program this past May.
“After the kids got older, I applied and went to nurse practitioner school at University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson,” she said. “Thank you, Sumners [Foundation] Grant. It paid my tuition.”
Gammel said her husband, DeWayne, also used the Sumners Foundation Grant to attend medical school, and when he thought about where he wanted to practice as a physician, he took that into consideration.
“We wanted to settle in Winona in part because it was a Sumners [Grant] county,” she said. “He wanted to work in the area it served.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in March 2020, Gammel said much of her schooling went online.
“It was different than the last time I was going to go back to school. Classes were all in-person. However, when I went back, it was hybrid, with some classroom and a lot of online lectures. I do not enjoy online learning. I’m not an auditory learner. I do much better with hands-on instruction.”
Gammel did her clinical studies in Winona for Tyler Holmes, shadowing nurse practitioners Maggie Taylor and Shelby Lype.
And when she graduated in May 2021, she immediately took her boards so she could start work in June for Tyler Holmes’ Fast Track Clinic, which had become ground zero for the pandemic.
Recently, all of Tyler Holmes’ clinics – Winona Family Practice, Crossroads Family Medicine, and the Fast Track Clinic -- moved under one roof, in the medical building that formerly housed just Winona Family Practice and the physical therapy department. The physical therapy clinic is now located in the former Crossroads Family Practice building.
As a nurse practitioner under the purview of Dr. Keith Rushing, Gammel said she is focusing more and more on women’s health. Through Tyler Holmes, women can receive their annual physicals, pap smear screenings, mammograms, bone density screenings and so on.
“I like seeing complicated cases and figuring them out,” Gammel said. “I really enjoy women’s health.”
And with her experience in emergency medicine, she is a natural at keeping patients calm and walking them through their treatment plan.
“Its like I always tell my kids – be kind,” she said. “Do it for everyone. You never know what someone else is going through.”
With her experience and national certification as a school nurse, she hopes she can also focus on pediatric health in the future. As a mother and a rabid fan of superheroes and sci-fi, she is able to develop an easy rapport with young patients.
“I have a six-foot tall Captain America that used to be in my office at the school,” Gammel said. “Well, now, he has friends. There is a Winter Soldier and Thor. One of the rooms in the clinic is designated as a kids’ room, and it is filled with superhero stuff. We have people taking pictures with my guys in the background.”
Gammel loves superheroes – in particular, Captain America.
“I think half of Winona sees Captain America and thinks, ooh, Amy,” she laughed.
Gammel also loves cheering on the Winona Tigers, Mississippi State football, and the Atlanta Braves – things she is very passionate about.
“I think I’ve spent too long with kids,” she laughed. “I love kids.”
Another passion of Gammel? Mission trips to Guatemala through Ahava Ministries of Winona.
“I’ve been there too many times to count,” she said. “That is my second home. Their hearts are so different. I would go live down there if I could.”
