Daily Inspiration: Meet Dr. Lauren Hughes

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Lauren Hughes. 

Hi Dr. Hughes, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
You could say my story started when I was around 6 or 7 years old and I helped my dad (a small-town family doctor) place stitches on our kitchen table. I knew from that age I was going to be a doctor. I loved everything about how my dad practiced. He would trade services with other professionals in town (I never had to pay for an oil change!) and would have families pay him in tomatoes and corn. It was all about providing wonderful care and cultivating relationships. 

I had my oldest child a few weeks before I started my pediatric residency. We immediately struggled with breastfeeding. He had a posterior tongue tie that I was given conflicting advice about. I finally had it released when he was 6 weeks old and nursing took off. This sparked a passion for me to learn everything I could about tongue ties and breastfeeding medicine. I even flew around the country during training so I could learn from the best professionals in these fields. 

My idea for Bloom came about my intern year of residency. I knew how I wanted to practice, which was similar to how my dad did. I wanted to spend time with patients, I wanted to be able to follow up with them closely, and I wanted to practice how I knew was best for the patient, not the insurance company. Unfortunately, none of these things are possible in the current healthcare system. I discovered direct primary care and knew that was what I was going to do. 

When I had my twins in March of 2020, my son was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition. Despite being a pediatrician and understanding his disease, as his mother, I was overwhelmed with questions and worry. I am lucky that one of my close friends is also his pediatrician and I could text and call her anytime about him. This, plus the emerging pandemic, solidified that my type of practice was the right choice for me and the kids of Kansas City. 

I opened my practice, after several months of COVID delays, on October 28th, 2020. The response to my practice, the relationships I have formed with my families, and the professionals I have met in this community were more than I could have ever dreamed. I am incredibly lucky. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Starting a business is never easy. And when it comes to their children, parents need time to trust you. I also opened a new type of practice during a global pandemic, making it more difficult to network. A lot of parents choose their pediatrician based on word-of-mouth referrals from friends, which takes time to cultivate. 

Another struggle I had was learning HOW to start a business. This is not something ever discussed in medical school. I am also an incredibly stubborn and independent person, so I had to do nearly everything myself. I spent a lot of time researching what was needed to open a practice, resourcing furniture and equipment, and building my website. The doctor part I’m great at, but I am still learning how to be a business owner, though now with fewer mistakes. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a board-certified Pediatrician and an Internationally Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). I practice both general pediatrics and breastfeeding medicine. I am the only dual MD/IBCLC in Kansas. My practice, Bloom Pediatrics, and Lactation is a direct primary care clinic. This means insurance doesn’t get to dictate anything about my patients’ care. My patients get 24/7 access to me. They can text, call, or video chat with me anytime. I do home visits for all newborns and can continue all care at home if families would like. My appointments are 1-2 hours and your family is the only one in the clinic. There is no waiting for hours in a waiting room just to spend 10 minutes with the doctor. All of your time is spent with me. I provide all lactation support (including diagnosis and management for the breastfeeding parent) for my patients. I am able to do this because my patients pay me a monthly fee. They can submit this fee to their insurance for reimbursement! 

I am most proud of the fact that I recognized what was most wrong with the way we treat children in the insurance-based system and did something about it. I don’t have to reschedule families for a well check if their child is sick when they come in, I just care for it all right then and there. My families don’t have to wait for hours for a nurse line to call them back, they get to speak to the physician who knows them and their child. This allows for the more personalized care that children, and their families, deserve. 

What does success mean to you?
To me, I am successful, because I get to do what I love every single day. It’s not about the financial side of things, but if I am happy, my family is happy, and I am making a difference. All these things are true, so I consider myself incredibly successful. 

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: bloomdpc.com
• Instagram: @bloomdpc
• Facebook: facebook.com/bloomdpc

Image Credits
Krissy Vance
KM Photography
Wesley Folsom