Nurse practitioner opens pediatric medical clinic
A new medical clinic focusing on the health of children has opened in Forrest City.
Nurse Practitioner Jaci Brown opened The Littles Pediatric Clinic at 5082 N. Washington on March 1, and has been seeing patients ever since.
Brown said that even though running her own practice can be overwhelming at times, the outcome is still worth it.
"I love these babies," said Brown. "I am a kid at heart and it just makes me so happy. I love getting to come here and take care of these babies every day. It is my passion and it is what I was put on this earth to do. I do not have a doubt about that. When running my own practice, which is overwhelming sometimes due to the behind the scenes business things that go on, it makes it worthwhile when I see those little ones come in the door. It makes me happy, and I know it is all worth it."
Brown said that following her graduation from Arkansas State University in 1997, she began a career in the medical field.
"When I graduated high school I went to Arkansas State University where I earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree," said Brown. "I worked in labor and delivery for almost three years before I transferred to the emergency room at the Forrest City Medical Center where I worked for almost 16 years. I started working on my master’s degree in 2018 through Walden University and earned my Masters of Science in Nursing in January of 2020. I then went on to work in the Pediatric Clinic that the Forrest City Medical Center opened there on the hospital campus from July of 2020 until April of 2021."
According to Brown, she will continue to work with Dr. Bhavika Albee as her collaborating physician until she has fulfilled a three-year requirement to run a practice all her own.
Brown said after leaving the Pediatric Clinic she went to work at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis where she worked in the emergency room until June of last year.
"We purchased this building in July of 2021 because this was the end goal,” said Brown. “I went to Le Bonheur for a little while where I learned some things and got some good experience. I left them at the end of October to focus on finishing this place. March 1 was our first day seeing patients here. We saw nine patients on day one, and the phone has not stopped ringing since."
"Dr. Bhavika Albee is my collaborating physician as she was when I was at the hospital's clinic," continued Brown. "She has remained my collaborating physician. In Arkansas, you have to have a collaborating physician for a total of three years before going for independent practice, which has been my goal since I graduated college in 1997. Now, owning my own practice, I am finally at the dream I have always had. I am in school now working on my Doctor of Nursing Practice, which is the final degree in nursing. I will not be a medical doctor; it is totally different. I will have a Doctorate of Nursing Practice and be a Nurse Practitioner but officially be known as Dr. Jaci Brown."
Brown said she does her best to make her patients comfortable in order to ensure an easy diagnosis.
"I try to engage the children as much as possible by asking them how they are feeling or what is hurting on them so it helps them in the future," said Brown. "If they are able to express, as a child, how they feel, where they hurt, or what it feels like, they start learning how to interpret those things and how to explain them to people. Kids are notorious for telling you that their throat hurts when their leg is broken because they don't want you to touch their leg. They are scared that you will hurt them so they will tell you that it is something totally different. When you allow them to be comfortable around you, it allows you to diagnose them better."
According to Brown, she takes the approach of treating each child as her own to help ease them into what can be a stressful situation for some children.
"In healthcare, you always have the opportunity to make more money, go places, travel, work in different areas, but I have never wanted to work anywhere else," said Brown. "I enjoy taking care of the people I am around in the community. When you go to the store and your little patient runs up to you and hugs you, it shows they know who you are and they aren't scared of you. There are some kids who see the white coat and tense up a little bit, but I get in the floor and play with them and they are my best friends. They see me, they know who I am and they aren't scared.
Brown said she also focuses on the parents of the little ones.
"Parents feel like they are in an family environment also," continued Brown. "I tell most parents that 'that is actually my kid, I just let you take them home with you.' That is how I treat them. I treat every child I see like my own child and how I would want my own child to be treated. I listen to the parents the way I would want to be listened to as a parent."