PBN Health Care Heroes 2024
Physician: DR. BEATA NELKEN
Jenks Park Pediatrics CEO and president
What led you to choose health care as your profession? My path in medicine was motivated by the intention to bring the greatest resource and skill set to the area of greatest need among vulnerable minority populations in the urban setting. I try to live by the words: “Of those to whom much is given, much is asked in return.”
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How have you helped boost the quality of or access to health care? We provided free primary care to more than 600 children prior to the Cover All Kids law passing in July 2022. Since then, we enrolled more than 1,000 children in Medicaid, have continued to provide free care to newcomers, and use bilingual behavioral health clinicians in partnership with Family Services of Rhode Island to connect families to social services. Last year, we extended our services to include women’s health services for uninsured women in partnership with the R.I. Department of Health. We also added behavioral health and nutrition clinicians. In April, we will open a 30-unit residential facility in Central Falls for women and children at risk for homelessness.
What is the biggest challenge you and your organization are facing this year? People management, reorganization post-COVID-19 and general formalization of business matters of our still-young practice.
What more do you feel the state can do to help further support the health care sector in Rhode Island? The state should help provide closer oversight of the facilities that are charged with the care of our most vulnerable urban populations, as well as funding to communities of need rather than the use of intermediaries.
