Delores Cook, APRN-FNP

According to her parents, Delores Cook, FNP-C, has wanted to be in health care since she was a toddler. Growing up in Texas, Cook struggled with asthma and spent most of her childhood in the hospital, on-and-off of a ventilator. She was surrounded by healthcare professionals; caregivers that she called her friends, her teachers - and her role models. She developed a love of learning, an appreciation for every moment, as well as a deep respect for the medical professionals who were so attentive and encouraging. This, she knew, is what she wanted to do.

Cook earned her degree in Nursing at the University of Texas before going back to school a decade later to earn her Masters Degree and certification as a Family Nurse Practitioner at Texas Woman's University. She has cared for patients in both the hospital and clinical settings as a nurse in the ICU, an educator, and as a family practitioner.

She has been in family medical practice for 20 years and is just as passionate as the day she started. "There is nothing that I don't enjoy in healthcare," says Cook. "I love what I do because I get to learn something new every day, every week. I get to use my experience to build onto what I already know. That way I have never had one day at work exactly like another. Being here at Palestine Medical Group and in the Walk-In Clinic gives me a wonderful opportunity to help someone in their healing process - I love doing it."

As a longtime patient Cook approaches her practice and her patients with a simple question in mind: "What type of care and provider would I want?" So, she speaks with patients directly, listens to what they say and what they mean, and pays close attention to what their needs are. Cook believes there is no single, cookie-cutter path for patients. Each one is an individual, and caring for them means bringing her years of experience and expertise to meet them in that moment to offer their best way to a healthier life.

"I love this place, the people," says Cook. "This is my fifth year in the area, and the people are very down to earth and accepting. They take you at your word, and when you say something, they expect you to mean it - and when you give them that, they make caring for them easy."

In her free time, Cook loves spending time in the kitchen and gardening. She is very active in her church and serves on the city council. She also helps out with family members who need a little more care that did a few years ago, has two kids of her own, and four grandchildren. "I love sharing my hobbies and enthusiasm for life and living and learning with my family and with everyone," Cook says. "And I want to share that with my patients. My mother told me a long time ago that you might know more than anyone else in the room - but if you don't know how to share what you know so that anyone else in the room can understand it, so they can use it, then you might not know so much, after all."