Sarah Carrillo, a medical assistant at Glacier Medical Associates, aims to greet each patient with a bright smile and care for them as if they were family. 

“I'm always smiling, outgoing,” Carrillo said. “And I love my job. I love to work and I love this place.” 

Patients are her No. 1 priority and seeing them happy motivates her to be her best every day. 

“I love all my patients, that's for sure. They all hold a little spot,” she said while putting her hand on her heart." 

In Carrillo’s line of work, she’s not always seeing people in their best light. Patients who aren’t feeling well can be grumpy, but Carrillo shares a smile. Sometimes, people become angry over the phone and she retains her professionalism. 

“Eat them up and love them,” she said with her familiar smile. “Just kill them with kindness. Always, always.” 

At 23 years old, she brought a surprising number of years of caregiving experience to her current position. 

“I've been working in the medical field since I was 16. I started in a retirement home and was running that by the time I was 18,” she said, adding that the job entailed giving insulin injections and handing out medications for more than 300 residents. “I started as caregiver, did that for a long, long time, and then I just grew a huge passion for giving care and helping others.”  

A personal experience strengthened her desire to work in medicine.  

“When my great-grandfather was put in a nursing home because he had a stroke, and watching the ladies take care of all these people having their own special, different needs, I just knew ... I want to do something in the field, whether I'm being a doctor, a nurse, or something like that,” she recalled. 

In 2023, Carrillo had a strong desire to move from Albany, Oregon, to Montana and made the move just over one year ago. In March, she’ll mark one year as the medical assistant of Dr. Jennie Eckstrom. 

She previously worked at Greater Valley Health Center in Kalispell and learned the ropes, but she said Glacier Medical Associates is where she’s further developed her skills.  

“I've learned an insane amount. Dr. Ekstrom has so much knowledge,” Carrillo said. “The people that I work with, they have feedback always, so it's just like a little family away from your family.” 

She enjoys being able to care for new babies at Glacier Medical Associates and watch them grow up with each doctor's visit. Carrillo has been thinking of babies quite a bit lately. Her family welcomed a little brother just a few weeks ago, and her sister recently had a baby, making Carrillo an aunt for the first time. 

“She's gonna be the first little grand baby. Spoiled rotten,” she said. “My mom is so excited. We're all super excited.” 

Her family is a source of great love and pride. In addition to her older sister, she has three brothers and two younger sisters. 

“My brother's going to college. The other one is still in high school. My sister is an accountant for a huge company,” she said. “My other two little sisters are in school, and obviously the baby's just drinking milk and pooping.” 

She said her parents are to blame for her work ethic. 

"I don't think that's a bad thing. My dad has multiple companies. My mom has been with the same company for 15, 16 years, and I show up and I show out,” Carrillo said. “You give it your all, or you give it nothing.”