Shellie Turner
In Motion Staff Writer
Daytona State welcomed a local physician to the Hosseini Center on Oct. 24 to share how she built a successful medical practice. Dr. Delicia Haynes was the featured guest at the L. Gale Lemerand Entrepreneurial Speaker Series on the college’s main campus. She is the founder and CEO of Family First Health Center in Daytona Beach, the first membership based medical practice in Volusia County.
Her practice is built on the Direct Primary Care model, which offers family physicians’ services for a flat monthly fee. Her patients have around-the-clock communication with her through the patient portal in addition to virtual visits using Skype and FaceTime. Her practice is laser-focused on wellness and not just treating an illness.
As a child, Dr. Haynes knew she wanted to be a teacher, doctor or a lawyer. She believed that as a physician, she could do all three. She could teach her patients how to improve their health, she could advocate for them and she could heal them. But a negative experience with a physician when she was in seventh grade helped her realize the kind of physician she didn’t want to become.
“Being a better patient has helped me a better doctor,” Haynes said.
Dr. Haynes explained how steering away from the traditional practice model has not only helped her patients, but also made her business successful. Direct Primary Care saves insurance companies money because claims aren’t being filed with them for payment. Claims for preventative care and for minor illnesses can raise rates as much as claims for major conditions. After she received a contract from a local insurance carrier showing a 40 percent cut in her reimbursement, she decided to cut the middle man and change how she runs her practice.
Dr. Kristin Gray, Chief Medical Officer with Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center in Daytona Beach, believes that the Direct Primary Care model can be beneficial for patients.
“This model can help develop a positive relationship between a doctor and their patient and help them recognize the need for healthy living,” Gray said.
Family First Health Center doesn’t offer membership plans to individuals. They have family and employer rates as well. Businesses can utilize her services to make budgeting their employees’ health expenses easier than with traditional insurance plans. Since Direct Primary Care isn’t insurance, businesses can see how much they’re spending on employee healthcare. The prices are fixed with no surprises for patients.
Dr. Haynes shared her personal struggles with depression and her journey to understand that she could give herself permission to take a break. She credits her high school English teacher for first recognizing the feelings she was experiencing and another in medical school for helping her realize it was time to take a step back. She uses the tools she learned while taking care of herself in her professional life, extending those tools to her patients. She is a firm believer in setting goals and recognizing that failure doesn’t mean the end.
Dr. Haynes credits her staff with helping make her business successful. They performed assessments of themselves to learn each other’s strengths and weaknesses. She recognizes that not everyone has the same skill set and perhaps it’s just a matter of finding the right place for that person. She has surrounded herself with people who aren’t afraid to call her out.
“Surround yourself with people who make you stand on your tippy toes,” she told the audience.
While she has had much success with her practice and earned much recognition for her work, she is still setting goals for herself and describes herself as a person of faith. She is continuing to challenge herself, stating that her personal challenge is getting out of her own way.
Darrell Hampsten, Director of the Small Business Development Center at Daytona State College, asked Dr. Haynes about those who felt that changing her practice to Direct Primary Care was a bad idea.
“Even some well-meaning people take their fears and project their fears on you,” she responded. “But when you get the green light, you know you have got to do something.”