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CommentsKids Kare: heart-felt healthcare
Couple’s business thrives on personal and cultural touches
Many of Lopez’s medical peers would agree with the co-owner of Kids Kare Pediatrics and Family Clinic, a local chain of urgent-care clinics that cater to Latinos, particularly those who do not speak English or do not have insurance.
For Lopez and her business partner/husband, Dr. Carlos J. Lopez, educating patients is a key component of a preventive medicine strategy that is taken to heart more than turning a profit.
“There is not a lot of information in Spanish or education about what kind of food to feed kids or how to live a healthy lifestyle. We do our best to educate so they can have healthy kids. Of course we need their business, but we do not want the same kids to be at the clinic every single day because they are sick for the same reasons,” she says.
When Lopez opened the clinic with husband in 2001, Kids Kare was established as a professional necessity. At the time, Lopez had not completed her specialty field and her husband, a pediatrician, had parted ways with his pediatric service.
Upon hearing of his departure, Lopez says longtime patients showed their loyalty, creating a ready-made client base. They were able to open three clinics in that first year.
“They said, ‘Don’t worry, we will help you.’ And we started growing and growing. We thank God that everything worked out,” she says of their business, which is comprised of five clinics spread across the Valley from
About 90 percent of Kids Kare patients are Latino, many who prefer to discuss delicate and often complicated medical concerns in Spanish. Lopez says her bilingual staff makes families feel more at ease.
“People love us. We know the culture; we know them and what they are thinking. They like that,” she says.
Despite strides made in overall healthcare, medical treatment and technology, little has improved with regard to Spanish-speaking Latinos and their children.
Lopez agrees with medical experts’ theories that the lack of Spanish language literature and education on preventive healthcare and maintenance continues to play a role in this disparity.
Lack of insurance also is to blame. About a third of Latinos are uninsured, which is why Kids Kare is a fee-based operation that sees patients with or without it. A $100 fee is charged for first-time patients and $80 for established patients. If a medical condition is too severe to be handled at the clinic level, physicians refer them to larger organizations.
Lopez and her staff believe educating patients can help to fend off any preventable illness or long-term condition.
Because obesity and diabetes rates are increasing within the Latino community, Lopez educates patients and their parents about proper diet and exercise, and the dangers of smoking, alcohol, high blood pressure and sexually transmitted diseases. She buys medical magazines, books and copies articles for patients to read, as well.
Many of her patients live in a crowded household with multi-generations and extended family living under a single roof. Lopez and her colleagues see a lot of illnesses that are easily contracted or get worse if undetected, such as pneumonia, influenza and stomach viruses.
The customer-friendly approach sounds elementary, but it’s an area that an organization such as Kids Kare takes as the heart and soul of the business. Not only do they relate to their patients, but Lopez and her colleagues are role models for the next generation of Latino medical professionals.
Lopez says sometimes parents consult her after getting advice from a specialist, or just want to talk about what their child is going through. There is no charge for these services.
“They want someone to put their mind at ease. They want to make sure we agree with the specialist, if it is okay to do what they want them to do. That is the kind of trust patients have for us, and we really care about them,” she says. “I think that’s the big difference.”
Kids Kare Pediatrics and Family Care
Five locations
Visit www.kidskarepeds.org, or call (602) 254-0390.
