We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Caroletta James a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Caroletta, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

I was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps in 1998. After my time in the military, I pursued a career as a unit health care coordinator where I worked on the Burn Unit at University Hospital. I then studied to become a STNA and PCA working at various nursing homes and hospitals. I did that for 4 years before I went to Nursing school and graduated in 2002. Worked in the float pool in hospitals on med surg, ICU, rehabilitee, home health. And management. I ended up having twins and life got real. I decided to pursue a career as a Family Nurse Practitioner, so I did I graduated in 2014. Getting my first job as a Nurse Practitioner was an eye opener. I found myself begging others for a job and did not understand why especially with the experience that I had. I had the false impression that with more education and experience that I would be a great candidate for the job, but that was so untrue. I eventually was hired by an independent physician with his own practice which gave me a foot in the door. I worked as a hospitalist, urgent care, family practice, chronic care management, and palliative care. I was so excited that I ended up working multiple jobs to survive and I was eager for the experience. No one wanted to pay me what I knew my worth was regardless of the high request from patients to see me. I eventually saw a pattern with these jobs. The patients were yearning for a relatable provider offering continuity of care as well as someone who genuinely cared about their needs. As simple as this sounds, these patients believed the providers did not listen to them. There was no empathy and no compassion. Patients of ethnic cultures feared going to the doctor out of fear that they would be mistreated, and I wanted to create a relatable safe place for any patient that came to see me and that’s what I did. I started ECO health Care Center. I was fortunate to have a husband that could build a clinic and after convincing him that this would not be a pipe dream, he went to work and successfully finished the clinic. We did not have the finances to afford a receptionist, a biller, a credentialing agent a janitor, a nurse, provider. So, I assumed all roles. I did all roles for greater than a year before seeing any compensation. I initially held onto an Urgent Care job while scheduling patients at ECO Health Care Center out of fear that I would fail. I did not have any patients and we were living on a prayer.

Caroletta, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hello. My name is Caroletta James. I am a family Nurse practitioner and Director of ECO Health care center family practice. We specialize in preventative health care services and the management of chronic diseases. Our goal is to eliminate Compounding Outcomes (hence ECO) that often lead to either acute illness or complication s of a chronic disease. We genuinely care about our patients as we offer a wholistic approach to caring for each individual. You can contact 513-914-5449 to schedule an appointment. I moved out of my parents house at 18 and I honestly did not know which direction to take at that age and stage of life. I was in school at Cincinnati State in the medical lab tech program simultaneously working part time at a local bank. I was constantly faced with frustration and struggle as I was failing in school . I was in a program that I honestly had no interest in, but felt compelled to stay in school because this is what I was taught . I had no other way to survive. I was persistently struggling to pay my monthly rent in my apartment and I remember saying to myself , there has to be something more to this life.. As stated before , I decided to go into the Marine Corps to see if this would be better as I was still searching my way through life. I did my time in the military and although it was a great experience, this restricted me to be creative in my career path. I eventually was discharged honorably from the military and pursued a career in nursing. I was compelled by my compassion to help people and I needed to be able to survive. I started off as a Unit Coordinator ( receptionist) working on the Burns unit at UC Hospital. I then worked as a Patient care assistant and Nurse Aide until I graduated from Nursing school . I worked as a Registered Nurse for over 10 years before returning back to school to become a Nurse Practitioner. Once I started working as a Nurse Practitioner , I noticed that I had to what felt like begging for someone to hire me. This was a challenge. Once I got my first position as a Nurse Practitioner ,I noticed that patients of different cultures had a great distrust in the healthcare field either from family or an individual past experience. I wanted to change that by establishing trust and to reduce barriers in health care . After struggling working in other companies ; with what I now understand that I couldn’t change , I eventually started my own practice with the goal of creating a safe relatable space to all cultures of people. I created a space where there is continuity of care and a place where biases and prejudice will not be tolerated. I created ECO Health Care Center.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Insurance companies do not like to reimburse consistently. Lack of reimbursement creates a bad struggle for health care providers. There were many days where I felt that it would be easier to go work for someone else or even work in a different field and I wanted to quit. I remember that I have over 3,000 patients that rely on me and as easy as it is to quit . I did not quit and constantly researching ways to bring in funds to the clinic It is easier to find other ways to bring in funds. Quitting right now is not an option.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

Learning Billing is extremely important. this can slow down reimbursement if you do not study the billing aspect of the health care world. Networking with other companies is just as important.

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Caroletta James