Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Alana Kennedy-Nasser.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Dr.Kennedy-Nasser. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My journey in medicine began at age 16 when I emphatically decided I wanted to be a pediatrician. After completing my undergrad studies at SMU (go Mustangs!) with a degree in broadcast journalism, I earned my medical degree at UT in San Antonio, where I met my husband, Dean, who is now a pulmonologist. One pediatrics residency at Tulane and pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship at Baylor/Texas Children’s Hospital (and four great kids) later, I became an attending on the bone marrow transplant unit at Texas Children’s Hospital for five years. As a mother of four and a pediatrician (a momma doc), I have to confess that I dreaded going to the doctor. I did not like waiting endlessly in waiting rooms. And I didn’t like that the pediatrician saw upwards of 30-40 children per day, thereby leaving most preventive conversations to the staff, regarding vaccines, nutrition, exercise, and so forth. Thus, after spending endless hours at the hospital and not enough time at home and having a desire to change the medical scene (even if just a little), I decided to venture into a novel approach to medical care – a personalized practice that focused strongly on preventive care, timely visits, quick and easy accessibility to the doctor in a warm and nurturing environment. Thus, purePEDIATRICS literally was born out of my desire to change everything I disliked about going to the doctor! All I had to do was convince my husband, who it turns out was my strongest advocate. Thanks Dean!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Without a doubt, our greatest challenge was opening a practice that did not accept insurance. While the idea of concierge medicine is not new (there are many internal medicine concierge practices nearby), the idea of a membership-based pediatric practice was novel, especially to the Houston area. Much time and consideration was given to ensuring a small enough volume of patients so that the pediatrician (in this case, me), would be able to see patients the same day, answer phone calls, emails and text messages and have a solid grasp of the medical issues the patients may have. We have patients who range from very healthy newborns, to families with very chronically ill children to teenagers with a wide range of social issues. We developed a network of close and collegial relationships with other pediatric sub-specialists in Houston to allow for appropriate referrals and excellent communication between medical providers.
Please tell us about purePEDIATRICS.
When we started the practice in 2013, purePEDIATRICS was the first concierge pediatric practice in Houston. When the doors first opened, we had zero patients (a little daunting!) With dedication to providing the best medical care and customer service possible, we have grown from a small office in River Oaks to our new home in Bellaire. purePEDIATRICS is a membership-based practice for infants through college students aimed at strong preventive care with easy and timely pediatrician accessibility, while allowing office visits that range from 30 minutes to an hour. Our team, which started as one, now includes two key members – our medical assistant, Destiny and our office coordinator, Claudia, who ensure the practice runs smoothly and efficiently and TIMELY. Primarily via word of mouth, we have steadily grown into a flourishing practice with happy (and healthy) patients and parents, all of whom we know by name and by sight. And there is nothing better than running into your patients at a restaurant and knowing them well!
While our families enjoy a close relationship with their pediatrician and love the convenience of having on-time appointments, our practice allows them to make appointments on the same day and having pediatrician access at any time via telephone, text, e-mail or at their homes. Yes, we provide house calls!
We offer a wide range of services, in addition to routine well and sick child visits. purePEDIATRICS focuses on providing a solid foundation in preventive care and nutrition, and we have a strong interest in the use of “food as medicine” and personalizing each patient’s care. In addition to convenient lab draws in our office, we offer micronutrient testing, genetic testing for medication optimization, allergy testing, ADHD management, weight management and parental guidance on a variety of childhood/teenager/young adult issues. We also host monthly lectures and bring in medical experts to educate our patients, their parents and the community on a variety of relevant topics. Being a parent (and sometimes a kid) is tough, and we understand!
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite memory of childhood was my first road trip to AstroWorld with my parents and two sisters. Always a daredevil, I was more than happy to ride Greezed Lightnin’ with my adventurous dad while my older sisters waited patiently for us to finish. My father was a bull rider and bareback rider in his “younger days,” and I inherited a good bit of his carefree and daredevil spirit, which has followed me throughout my life! I hope I have passed this zest for living life to the fullest to my children as well – my youngest caught it for sure. We have to watch that one closely.
Contact Info:
- Address: 6750 West Loop S
Suite 465
Bellaire, TX 77401 - Website: www.purepediatrics.com
- Phone: 832-431-4336
- Email: info@purepediatrics.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/purepediatrics/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/purePEDIATRICS/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/purePEDIATRICS
Image Credit:
Aaron Palaian
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