Celestina Iheanacho, MD - Memorial Hospital

About Dr. Iheanacho

After enjoying many years as a nurse, Dr. Celestina Iheanacho progressed to become a Nurse Practitioner. “I felt like there was still more I could learn to serve my patients,” she says. After that, she went on to become an MD.

She earned her Master of Science in Nursing from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. There she focused on adult and geriatric care. Fourteen years after that, she completed her studies as a Doctor of Medicine at the University of Science, Arts and Technology College of Medicine, Montserrat British West Indies. Her transitional post-graduate studies were at Detroit Medical Center – Sinai Grace Hospital, Department of Internal Medicine and her residency was completed at Detroit Medical Center – Sinai Grace Hospital, Department of Internal Medicine.

“I have always loved to work with adult populations and Internal Medicine meets that interest,” she says.

As a hospitalist with a focus on internal medicine she is trained to meet patients where they are. “I listen to them and find out their most pressing need at the time they see me and work with them regarding how they and I can work as a team in meeting those needs,” she says.

Her patients have taught her they are resilient and have a lot more of what it takes to care for themselves than they are given credit for. “They just need some help to steer them in the right direction.”

In her own words…

Who is or was the most influential people/role models in your life?  My parents

What was your first job growing up? What do you remember about it?  Salad bar attendant at Shoney’s restaurant; it helped me to appreciate a very humble beginning.

What is your favorite food? Movie?  Favorite food:  Foofoo with Owerri soup     Favorite movie: I am not really a movie person; I enjoyed the film Jesus Revolution

What was your best/worst subjects in school growing up?  My best subject was Igbo language and my worst subject was math.

If you could sit down to dinner with anyone (alive or deceased) who would it be and why?  My mother. I don’t think that I was able to express to her what an incredible job she did, raising 12 of us without complaints and making it look so easy.

In addition to medicine, what are you passionate about?  I like to exercise, be involved in my local church, and travel. I like cooking traditional foods when time permits.

What is something most people don’t know about you?  I have seven grandchildren.