Carisa Elmore, NP

Biography:

As a Nurse Practitioner since 2014, Carisa Elmore recognizes the importance of the personal touch when it comes to providing comprehensive pediatric care. In fact, it’s her favorite part of serving children and their families.

“I cherish the opportunity to get to know my kids and their caregivers, their likes and dislikes, their individual family dynamics, and how I can best help them be successful as well as healthy,” Elmore says. “As NPs, we are blessed with the ability to actively listen and communicate, often bridging conversations with parents and child. I also love being an advocate for my patients, especially within my medically complex families.”

Elmore received her Master’s of Nursing Science, Pediatric Acute and Continuing Care at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She added a Certified Lactation Counseling certificate to her resume in 2019.

She has worked with pediatric patients since officially starting her medical career in 1999, after working as a bedside nurse in Pediatrics Hematology/Oncology and the Pediatric ICU. She also boasts pediatric special interests in Sports Nutrition, Weight Management, Lactation, and Newborns.

“My favorite visit is the four-year well-child checkup,” Elmore shares. “At that age, I get to not only ask the child all the necessary questions, but also make them feel a little more independent and get to know their personalities—all with their parents help, if needed.”

A parent herself, her experiences with her own children in schools and youth sports in Effingham county have certainly impacted her approach to pediatric care.

“Being a parent has taught me a completely different side to caring for children than what you can learn in a textbook,” she explains. “I have become more empathetic to parents’ frustrations and worries. Having dealt with sick children of my own, I now better understand parents when they say, ‘They look fine today, but I promise they were up all night!’”

Elmore also understands from a parents’ standpoint the everyday stressors of school, trying to maintain healthy eating and sleep habits, and raising children in a technology-driven society while striving to keep them safe and balanced in all aspects of their day-to-day lives.

“As a parent, I’ve had to learn how to teach my children how to manage their time properly, foster relationships outside of school, maintain their grades, not to mention the importance of extracurricular involvement and how to use their incredible imaginations.”

“My approach to patient care centers around taking the necessary time to get to know each child and his or her family dynamic,” she adds. “This helps me determine how and who to teach, and what level to teach on in order to empower both my patient and their families.”