Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Janet Pate.
Dr. Pate, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I love serving children in my Houston and Bellaire communities! As Pediatric Chief Resident, I had the honor of working alongside the former Physician in Chief of Texas Children’s Hospital, Dr. Ralph Feigin. He taught me what it means to “put patient care first.” His work ethic, exceptional diagnostic skills and encyclopedic knowledge of medicine have been my model for the practice of medicine. After completing residency, I joined Texas Children’s Pediatrics (TCP) and I am thankful to my colleagues at TCP for all that I learned as a young physician under the shelter of the TCP umbrella. After eleven years of practicing with TCP I found that my ideals for practicing medicine were diverging from the growing trend of large corporate medical practice. At a time when independent pediatric practices are quickly disappearing, I created Nurture Pediatrics to bring children the finest general pediatric care possible. A child’s health is precious, and their caregiver’s time is valuable. My team and I work diligently to guide parents through all the ups and downs of raising a child and we provide timely patient centered medical care. I provide free direct secure text messaging 24/7 for medical questions, generous appointment times and initial newborn house-call visits. From newborn to adolescence, our patients find a welcoming smile, a listening ear and genuine interest in their health and well-being at our office! On a personal note, I am married to my high-school sweetheart Bryan Pate since 1998 and we have 2 fantastic sons, Joshua and Nathaniel. We love playing with our many pets, goofing off at beaches, hiking, running and hanging out with our extended families. Our family serves in quite a number of ministries, the most significant being ministries through Crosspoint Church for more than 10 years, several faith-based medical ministries including family based nutrition classes at Casa El Buen Samaritano for 5 years, and Peace Gospel Ministries for more years than we can recall. Nurture Pediatrics would not exist without the prayers and support of my husband, family and close friends.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
There have been challenges along the way in starting up Nurture Pediatrics. Initially simply breaking the mold of traditional office based medicine where the patients are scheduled every 10 minutes and interact mostly with nursing staff after-hours took some time to think through. My plans for the practice started 2 years before we opened. With much guidance from other independent pediatricians, the model of a small practice with direct interactions with the doctor and small administrative staff that allows for longer patient appointment times and more patient centered care was created. Some of the struggles along the way were finding a location that allows easy access without parking garages and big buildings in a crowded city like Houston. The permanent location I found would not be available for 6 months and I did not want to leave my established patients without care for a full winter. I was blessed with a temporary location less than 1 mile away on the same road to start the practice for the initial winter season. And it was truly a blessing to have a smaller location with lower rent initially because insurance contract negotiations took more than 6 months to complete which meant a slow start to cash flow for the practice. Construction at the permanent site turned out to have many bumps including costing twice as much as expected and taking twice as long as expected. I would not have been able to go through all these bumps without trusting in God who is always faithful and without the support of my husband and family!
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Nurture Pediatrics story. Tell us more about the business.
At Nurture Pediatrics we strive to provide compassionate care that combines modern medicine with a personalized touch. I like to know my patients as individuals. When I am with a patient, they are my sole focus. I have set up free secure texting to be more available to my patients after hours. I believe connection at a personal level is what builds a strong medical home for my patients and prevents physician burn-out. Our staff love working with children and families. Smiles abound and we understand how hard it can be to raise a child. We are there for our patients every step of the way from birth through adolescence. We offer an initial house-call visit for newborns that live in our local community to better serve the needs of the fragile newborn and mother.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I have learned many lessons along the way: 1. Many advisors are a good thing! 2. Insurance contracts are tricky and take an incredibly long time to finalize. 3. In business negotiations, be quick to listen and slow to speak. 4. Trust the Lord! His timing is perfect. 5. Lean on family support.
Contact Info:
- Address: 6900 S Rice Ave., Bellaire, TX 77401
- Website: www.nurturepediatric.com
- Phone: (713) 894-2751
- Email: jcpate@nurturepediatric.com
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