Do you have health insurance? If not , you are not alone, as millions of Americans don’t have health coverage for themselves and their family. According to the CDC (2019 statistics):
- Number of persons under age 65 uninsured at the time of interview: 32.8 million
- Percent of persons under age 65 uninsured at the time of interview: 12.1%
- Percent of children under age 18 uninsured at the time of interview: 5.1%
- Percent of adults aged 18 – 64 uninsured at the time of interview: 14.7%
Rising healthcare costs, the economic downturn, an erosion of employer-based insurance, and public program cutbacks are contributing factors as to why there are so many uninsured. There are clinics that provide medical care at affordable rate or at no-cost, but is it quality healthcare? Kimberly Cares is a clinic in our community, bridging the gap between affordable and quality healthcare and the uninsured.
Kimberly Cares is a valuable medical resource in our community providing quality, affordable health services for everyone, without regard to insurance status. Founded by veteran and family nurse practitioner, Kimberly Barrow, Kimberly Cares is founded on a self-designed model purposed to deliver top-notch, cost-effective care for the uninsured. A single parent who experienced life with no health insurance for her and her family, she understanding the challenges and stress it brings. “I know from personal experience the struggles and stresses of living without health insurance. And as a single mother, it was an especially frightening time. That is one of the reasons I founded Kimberly Cares. Here, we help lighten the load by offering high-quality healthcare at a low cost,” says Barrow.
Kimberly Cares also provides quality medical care to our community through partnerships. Partnering with the Volunteers of America, a nonprofit here in Houston, there are preferred provider for this organization’s healthcare program assistance. This collaboration includes providing vaccines and other services to low-income students in preparation for entrance into the healthcare program of their choice. Kimberly Cares also serves as a rotation site for a number of universities with graduate nursing programs.
We approach medicine with compassion, especially when minorities and those without health insurance can be treated as unimportant. Subsidized health centers are sometimes spread so thin that the patients are cycled in and out as quickly as possible. Healthcare is profit-driven and has lost the human element. But patients at Kimberly Cares are treated as people.
Founder of Kimberly Cares, Kimberly Barrow, MSN, APRN, NP-C
Q&A with Kimberly Barrow of Kimberly Cares
Please talk about how Kimbery CaRES is able to provide quality medical care to those with no health insurance.
We provide most primary care services for a $55 office cost. Primary care consists of routine general physicals, well woman exams, well child visits, and management of chronic conditions, such as high blood pressure and diabetes.
Being that you are a nurse practitioner and served as a captain in the United Sates Air Force, talk about your community outreach efforts for our veterans.
My mother and fathered both served, so I come from a family of veterans. I joined the Navy at 20 and fulfilled an 8-year service contract. Last year, I was commissioned as captain in the Air Force as a flight nurse. Having those experiences makes it easier to connect with other veterans. As a veteran-owned business, we are contracted to perform Veteran’s Disability Exams and annual physicals for active and reserve members of our Armed Forces. We evaluate both physical and mental health and provide service members with resources for a variety of services.
Please talk about your clinic’s work, continuing to support the community, despite the challenges of COVID-19. And what changes, if any, has your clinic made to adapt to COVID-19?
As a result of the pandemic, many provider offices closed or greatly reduced hours of availability. Instead, we have remained open to provide essential healthcare services to our patients, both in person and via telemedicine. We observe all precautions, such as mandatory masks, temperature checks, and social distancing of both the patients and staff.
What can we expect/new plans for your clinit to serve the community in 2021?
Community outreach projects are tentative, as we are unsure of how the pandemic will continue to affect our communities. However, we are planning to launch mobile clinic services that will be available to many of the underserved areas throughout the city.
Are there any awards of special recognitions you want to mention?
My clinic will be featured on the Drew Barrymore show on CBS this month! It’s exciting, but I am just grateful that our clinic will receive the exposure, raising awareness, so the uninsured know our clinic is here to provide them with quality medical care.
Do you find that it is still a challenge to encourage our community to go to the doctor? And why do you find there is this challenge? What is your clinic doing to encourage or community to get regular health checks?
It is certainly a challenge, as we are living in the days of consumer medicine. Health information is at our fingertips. People are often using the web to guide decisions on how they proceed with health concerns. Although there is an abundance of information at our disposal, knowing how to decipher and apply credible information is key. At Kimberly Cares, having those discussions and robust patient education is an integral part of our care. Knowledge can be power, so we work diligently to education and restore patient’s’ confidence in providers, especially with COVID-19 as a factor, to ensure they are making informed decisions. Patient education improves adherence to provider recommendations for routine exams, etc., because they understand why things are being done and that it’s beneficial.
Explain the extensive training, experience, and qualifications of a nurse practitioner.
Nurse practitioners (NPs) are registered nurses with an advanced level training and certification that allows for diagnosis and treatment of common conditions. We are licensed and governed by the Board of Nursing, much like physicians are by state medical boards. Our course of study, be it master’s or doctoral level preparation, is shorter than that of a physician, as we do not require a 4-year residence to complete our programs. Since we enter advanced practice with an average of 3 – 5 years of bedside experience as a registered nurse, the additional coursework and clinical time is just an enhancement of our previous 4 years of undergraduate studies. By the time we are licensed in advanced practice, we have completed 6 – 8 years of study that includes actual clinical experience as well.
Is there a success story that you can share?
I have a patient who came in with frequent infections from a previous surgery. She was scared and tearful. For years, she suffered from recurrent infections resulting in hospitalization for septic shock. She almost lost her life. I managed her condition with a $55 office visit and a $10 maintenance antibiotic dose. There have been no infections since. She was so grateful that she burst into tears and thanked me for saving her life. This is why I do this.
Find out more about Kimberly Barrow and all o fthe clinical services provided through Kimberly Cares. Visit www.kcaresmore.com for more information and to book your appointment. Contact the office at 346.277.5391.
