Dr. Corey Fish was a primary care pediatrician when he realized the need for an urgent care clinic geared specifically towards children
“Kids are not little adults,” he likes to tell people, and before he opened Pacific Crest Urgent Care in Portland, parents were left with limited options when their child required urgent medical care. Most often the emergency room is a family’s only option and “seventy plus percent of the time, an ER isn’t really necessary for the child to go to,” he added, “and that’s just a really wasteful way to practice medicine.”
While there are plenty of urgent care clinics around “unless you’re a pediatrician, generally it’s a little bit harder to know what to do with kids and know exactly the right ways to help them. It’s pretty nuanced,” said Fish.
With the help of his wife, the owner of a physical therapy practice, a loan from Business Impact NW and guidance from other medical professional entrepreneurs, Fish launched Pacific Crest Children’s Urgent Care 18 months ago. “There are so many predatory lenders out there, but I never felt that way working with you all,” commented Fish regarding his experience working with Business Impact NW Chief Credit Officer, Sunil Nair. “I always felt really well taken care of…like I have a vested partner in seeing us succeed.”
This week, Pacific Crest Children’s Urgent Care is entering a new chapter as they relaunch into the world of digital healthcare products with backing from venture capital firms as the startup Brave Care. Fish will now serve as the startup’s Chief Medical Officer, with entrepreneur Darius Monsef at the helm as CEO.
“The company’s technology vision, still a work in progress, involves building tools for parents to get advice from pediatric care providers at all hours in order to decide whether or not to head to a hospital or clinic,” wrote James Thorne in an article on GeekWire.
Brave Care will still provide the quality after-hour care Pacific Crest became known for, keeping kids out of the ER and in a welcoming environment specifically designed for them. The clinic alleviates fear for parents as well. “It’s nice to hear from parents that they feel like they have a trusted partner in the neighborhood that they can trust with the health of their children,” added Fish.
Keep your eye out for Brave Care as they expand in Portland and “launch digital products for parents around the country.” In a blog article on Brave Care’s new website, Monsef concluded “We’ll be building online tools to help you understand your child’s symptoms so you don’t have to go on a terrifying choose your own Google adventure, and we’ll be working on creating the most convenient and easiest check-in, in-clinic & check-out experience for you and your kids.”
Follow along Brave Care’s exciting venture on their website where they also post additional resources for parents, at www.bravecare.com, and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @bravecare.
About the author
Megan V. Torgerson
Megan is the founder of the storytelling initiative, Reframing Rural. She is an MFA candidate at Seattle University and holds a BA in English with an emphasis in creative writing from the University of Montana. Megan grew up on a farm and ranch in Montana and is inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit of rural communities.