Today we’d like to introduce you to Brittany Debeltz
Hi Brittany, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
As a young girl , I had a strong interest in helping others and knew I wanted to be a nurse. I took accelerated and college classes in high school that were of a science focus to paved my road towards nursing school. I graduated from Hibbing Community College in 2010 with my Associates Degree in Nursing and then College of Saint Scholastica in 2011 with a Bachelors of Science Degree in nursing. My first nursing position was in a long-term care facility where I became certified in gerontology. Although, I loved working with the elderly, I eventually went into primary care to provide care to individuals and their families throughout their life spans. After gaining experience I decided I wanted to help patients further through an advanced role in nursing. I went on to get my Master of Science Degree in nursing, graduating from a Family Nurse Practitioner program at Minnesota State University- Mankato and became a certified Family Nurse Practitioner in 2017. After graduating, I worked in family medicine at the Bois Forte Medical Clinic in Nett Lake, MN. I decided to continue my education to achieve a lifelong goal of receiving a Doctorate in Nursing Practice, which I received in July of 2019 through Minnesota State University Mankato. I continued to work in Family Practice at Bois Forte then later at Scenic Rivers Health Services in Cook, MN!
I always had a dream of owning a private practice one day! I finally decided to go into business for myself because I was starting to feel stressed, burned out, and less empathetic when working for an organization and traditional health care system. I could not practice the way I wanted to practice nor provide the care I wanted to provide. The health system forces providers to see more and more patients with less time allowed with each patient; it forces providers to recommend tests, procedures, and medications that are necessary to meet set standards for reimbursement and may not be what’s best for the patient. This leads to extra costs and hassle for patients, puts patients at extra risk for unwanted side effects and/or complications. It also adds strain to the health care system. The health care system wasn’t meeting the needs of my patients or myself as a health care provider which ultimately motivated me to start my own private practice.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The process of getting my private practice from idea to reality took time and effort. There is a term
“Paralysis by analysis” which I learned from a fellow small business owner. When I started looking into and “analyzing” everything I needed to do to start my business it was overwhelming and could have easily “paralyzed” me and stopped me from pushing forward. It would have been easy to just call it quits and walk away from the process and continue working for an organization providing health care. However, I knew that wasn’t what was best for myself or my patients. I knew good things do not come easy and that the hard work with the start up of Bridge to Health would be worth it.
The challenges to my start up included figuring out how to operate my private practice without billing insurance, as this is a much newer concept. Most people rely on insurance companies to pay for healthcare so it was and continues to be a challenge to explain to patients that sometimes certain type of healthcare can be more affordable without use of insurance.
We’ve been impressed with Bridge to Health, PA, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Bridge to Health, PA is a primary care clinic and offers comprehensive care including physicals, acute care, chronic disease management and more ! Focus is treating patients like a person not a number. We do not bill insurance companies for office visits which allows services to be patient focused rather than focusing on meeting insurance requirements. Patients can use insurance for the labs, imaging, and medications if they choose. Patients can choose to pay per visit or enroll into a monthly membership with unlimited visits per month for a monthly fee!
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Word of mouth advertising has been the best form of networking for myself and my business. I am grateful for my “walking billboards” aka patients who often provide me with referrals
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.bridgetohealthpa.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/162jitpjhP/?mibextid=wwXIfr
