Danielle Walker Joining SBL Family Medical Center

Family Medicine Provider Danielle Walker, MD. Photo submitted by Sarah Bush Lincoln.

For Immediate Release – February 5, 2024

Growing up in an underserved area in Chicago, Family Medicine Provider Danielle Walker, MD, saw the gap in healthcare for people in an under-resourced community. As she got older, she wanted to change that and be part of the solution. “Everyone, no matter who you are, should have access to great healthcare,” she said.

In an effort to be part of the solution, Dr. Walker, throughout her schooling and career, has traveled to various states and countries to help people there. Now, she’s bringing that passion and energy to Sarah Bush Lincoln Family Medical Center to care for people in the community.

Dr. Walker completed her undergraduate schooling at Bradley University, and she received her medical degree from Ross University School of Medicine in Dominica. Her third and fourth year at Ross University consisted of rotations in the United States, and she worked at hospitals in Chicago, Maryland, New York and Georgia. She also completed her residency in Arkansas.

The experience that impacted her the most, which helped fuel her passion for providing quality care to those who need it, and led her to choose the family medicine specialty, was a rotation in Africa during her enrollment at Ross University.

Dr. Walker treated people with acute and chronic conditions in underserved neighborhoods in poverty-stricken slums outside Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. Because the people in those neighborhoods didn’t have access to quality healthcare, Dr. Walker did many home visits. “To see what we have here in the United States, compared to what they didn’t have, it was really eye-opening,” Dr. Walker explained.

Caring for underserved people of all ages in Kenya, and educating them on healthy habits and the importance of prevention, vaccinations and more, was an important experience for Dr. Walker. “Helping people get a better quality of life was great,” Dr. Walker said. “To be able to provide these services to all people, so as not to exclude anybody, is what’s special to me.”

Within family medicine, preventive care is a focal point of Dr. Walker’s practice. In Africa, and while attending Ross University, she gave preventive care to indigenous people in Dominica. Finances, culture and economics can sometimes be barriers to healthcare, so Dr. Walker helped mitigate that by identifying ways they could move toward a healthier lifestyle with the resources that they did have. In addition to preventive services, Dr. Walker provides acute care, chronic disease management and has special interest in pediatrics, adolescents and women’s health.

With those experiences guiding her, she’s excited to meet and care for families in the community. Helping one person is rewarding, but being able to help multiple members in a family is significant.

“Previously, I’ve cared for a child, the mom, the grandmother and, a few times, even the great grandmother,” Dr. Walker explained. “If you treat the whole family, you learn about what affects their health, and you can take care of all of them much better. I really enjoy caring for patients of all ages and stages in life. It’s my goal and desire to build and maintain quality relationships and effect true change with each patient encounter. Together, with strong partnerships, I believe we can have healthy people and healthy families, and that makes healthy communities.”

To schedule an appointment with Dr. Walker, call 217-234-7000.