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MCHC Welcomes Certified Family and Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Kimberly Silva
UKIAH, CA — MCHC Health Centers is pleased to welcome board certified Family and Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (FNP and PMHNP) Kimberly Silva. She will see patients of all ages at Little Lake Health Center in Willits.
Silva brings more than 40 years of professional experience in psychiatric and mental health care. She began her career with Humboldt County’s Behavioral Health Department before completing psychiatric technician training at Napa Valley College. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Dominican University of California and worked across multiple Bay Area psychiatric settings, including 17 years with San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center.
During that time, she received a master’s degree in nursing from Samuel Merritt University and obtained her board certification as a family nurse practitioner. She later pursued additional specialization in psychiatric mental health at Johns Hopkins University, becoming a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner.
MCHC Chief Medical Officer Justin Ebert says, “I am excited to have Kim Silva as part of our Little Lake Health Center team. As a Willits native, her love of community is reflected in the compassion and empathy she brings to every interaction with our patients. I especially appreciate her passion for evaluation and treatment of mental health disorders in the setting of whole-person care.”
While in training during her family practice specialization, Silva precepted with Ebert, which influenced her interest in providing community-based, integrated care at a Federally Qualified Health Center. “It’s a way to help the underserved and people who are not getting the care and attention they need,” she says.
Silva’s board certification in both family medicine and psychiatric mental health means she can provide primary care and routine check-ups as well as assess, diagnose, and treat medical and mental health conditions and prescribe medication when appropriate.
Her dual scope of practice enables her to care for patients with coexisting physical and mental health needs during the same visit. “I think it’s good to treat the whole person and not leave out the mental health component,” she says. Patients’ life circumstances influence all aspects of their well-being, whether they’re coping with wildfires or COVID, living with physical ailments or mental health diagnoses, or managing everyday stressors like job loss, relationship problems, or food insecurity.
As she works with patients, Silva focuses on meeting them where they are and learning about their lives. She sees a two-way relationship as essential to providing effective care. Her goal, she says, is to focus on helping patients work toward sustainable well-being, whatever that looks like for them.
With most patients, Silva encourages daily movement and exercise, which she considers fundamental to both mental and physical health and can often benefit people when used in tandem with medical interventions. For some patients, she recommends daily walks. For someone who uses a wheelchair, she considers upper body exercises. The exact exercise does not matter as much as making movement a regular part of the routine. “Another day exercising is another day forward,” she says.
She treasures the times when past patients have reached out to say that her care made a difference in their lives. “It means a lot to know that I was able to help somebody when they needed it,” she says.
Silva lives locally and appreciates being able to care for the people within her community. She is a firm believer that serving underserved and disadvantaged populations strengthens the whole community. “It makes everyone better,” she says.
Silva appreciates living in a home she describes as “out in the woods,” while still being close to the clinic. She exercises daily, often hiking and walking. Formerly a member of a band, she still plays the drums every day. She also enjoys spending peaceful time at home, often with her two cats.
MCHC Health Centers includes Hillside Health Center and Dora Street Health Center in Ukiah, Little Lake Health Center in Willits, and Lakeview Health Center in Lakeport. It is a community-based and patient-directed organization that provides comprehensive primary healthcare services as well as supportive services such as education and translation that promote access to healthcare.