We recently connected with Dr. Cortney Baker and have shared our conversation below.

Dr. Cortney, appreciate you joining us today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.
It was 2002 and I’d just gotten married in June, one year after graduating college. My husband was working the night shift in a warehouse after being laid off as a result of a horrible 9/11 economy. We got pregnant in November, shortly after I’d started working a new job as a speech pathologist in pediatric home healthcare. I loved my job but I didn’t love who I was working for. I decided that even though the odds were stacked completely against me, I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life being an undervalued employee. So with zero business experience and very little money in the bank I started my own company, KidsCare Home Health, with 10 little patients and I was the only therapist. Today that company has grown to operate in 8 states with over 850 employees serving thousands of patients and we were just named a 2022 Top Places to Work in the U.S!

Dr. Cortney, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
For the last nearly 20 years I’ve been so busy building a business, earning my doctorate degree, and helping other young women grow their businesses that when the pandemic hit, it was like the first time I’d stopped to actually take a breath. When the two week quarantine hit I asked myself, “what’s one thing you’ve always wanted to do but never taken the time to?” and the answer was paint. So I went to the craft store and bought some things- I had absolutely no idea what I was doing! I was asking people in the aisles what I needed, I’m sure I looked as clueless as I was! I enrolled in online painting courses and started trying new things and absolutely fell in love with the process and the wonder of making something bright and colorful and cheerful. As far as what I’m most proud of or that I want people to know, I think it’s that I want people to see my work and it give them a sense of joy and happiness, a peace that brings a smile. I mean, life is too short to not have something to give us joy, but it’s hard in this world. So I do my best to create smiles through my art.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
I think I’m a cat with 9 lives- I’ve suffered a pulmonary embolism (age 32) and a massive stroke that required a 7 hour brain surgery (age 37). But the resilience comes from having high standards for myself and not taking no for an answer. That and it sorta helps that I’m pretty damn stubborn. I’d enrolled and started classes in the doctoral program at Pepperdine University one month before I had my stroke. So I took that fall semester off and re-enrolled in classes in the spring. I was determined to get my doctorate degree because I had been a single teenage mom on welfare and food stamps when I was 18, having my first child just 6 months after I graduated high school.

Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?
When I first started KidsCare Home Health, I was in charge of payroll, billing, basically all the financials for the business. Well, I may be good at a few things, but accounting isn’t one of them. So, I was submitting the claims to the insurance companies every week for services that had been performed, so we could get paid, and the denials kept flooding in, every week. The money was dwindling down out of our account and every week I was getting more and more anxious and worried that we would run out of money. It was so scary and I thought everything my husband and I had invested into this company- time, money, energy, sanity- was about to fold. I’ll never forget, he was working the night shift and he’d walk in the house on Friday mornings after I’d taken the baby to the sitter and I’d be in bed with the covers pulled up over my head, sobbing my eyes out saying, “I can’t do it anymore… I’m done. It’s over. I quit!” And every Friday for a few months, until we started getting paid, he’d pull the covers off my head, dry my eyes, and say, “Cortney, if it was easy, everyone would do it. Now get up, you have a job to do and people are counting on you.” So, I’d pick myself back up and keep going. Thankfully I finally figured out billing and the rest is history! Thanks, Jason, for always believing in me :)

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kidscarehomehealth.com and www.cortneybaker.com
• Instagram: @drcortneybaker

Image Credits
Stacie Weever