INDIANAPOLIS — Family nurse practitioner Taquita Taylor is making Indianapolis health care history.
She's celebrating one year at Children's Express Care Clinic, the city's first Black-owned pediatric clinic — and as such, she's paving the way in her own community.
"It's still really unbelievable. Every day I am like, 'Wow, I have a clinic. I have the first Black-owned pediatric independent convenience clinic in the state of Indiana,'" said Taylor.
She says her love for children and more than 20 years of healthcare experience inspired her to take a leap of faith and open an affordable, trustworthy and convenient pediatric clinic on Indianapolis' east side.
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"I wanted to bring healthcare to the urban areas because it's a health desert. there is a lot of urgent cares in the north side communities in Fishers and Carmel areas, but there is nothing in our urban communities," she said.
Taylor adjusted the clinic's hours to stay open until 8 p.m. three nights a week, to give parents more time to bring their kids in after school and work.
Those extended hours are part of the reason Alexandria Ackles brings her one-year-old son Phoenix here.
"Once I go get him, most of the times places are closed, so it's nice to be able to bring him here. It's always a good time and that's important," said Ackles. "I just want my son to also see Black people in positions like a doctor."
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Since Taylor opened in February of 2021, her business has continued to grow.
"We have grown tremendously. When we first started out we were seeing one patient a day, one patient a week. Now, we are averaging 10 to 15 patients a day.
WRTV caught up with Taylor in December when she was seeing 60 patients a day due to COVID-19 and moved into a larger clinic.
The demand for care has been so great, Taylor began offering testing and vaccinations to entire families, not just the kids.
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"COVID in this setting has went down a lot. About three weeks ago, it was ridiculous. We were having people wait in their cars for visits. Now, the demand has definitely decreased. We are seeing ear infections, strep," said Taylor.
Taylor says she's honored to be a part of Black history and wants to be an inspiration to others.
"It's my passion. I am a nurturing caring person so everyone that steps foot in this door we treat them like they are family. We want them to not have fear of being at the doctor's office," said Taylor.
She says that although Children's Express Care Clinic is a minority-owned business, everyone is welcome.
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"We are here first and foremost," said Taylor.
Children's Express Care Clinic is open from noon to 5:30 Monday and Friday, noon to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
