As COVID-19 was making headlines and spreading rapidly around the world, nurse practitioner TaQuita Taylor saw a need in Indianapolis.
Chain pharmacies, like the CVS Minute Clinic where she worked at the time, offered convenient care for things like vaccinations and COVID tests. But there weren’t many urgent care options for families with young children, including those under 5 years old and babies under 18 months.
“I have always had a passion to work with kids,” Taylor said.
When kids are sick, she said, things like getting a shot or a throat swab are scary. Pediatric-focused urgent care makes those interactions more kid-friendly — from the way the nurses talk to them all the way down to the grape-flavored tongue depressors.
So in December 2020, Taylor and her husband, Patrick, opened a pediatric urgent care center at 5435 Emerson Way on the northeast side. With Community North and Community East about 10 miles away, he noted, “it’s more of a health desert in this area. Plus, it’s close to the neighborhoods we grew up in.”
Over the past five years, thousands of harried parents with kids in tow and infants in portable car seats have made their way to Children Express Care Clinic. The clinic quickly expanded in 2022 to offer primary care, and adults can now be seen there as well.
Responding to the demand, the clinic has grown to include five nurse practitioners and a medical assistant, plus office staff.
With seasonal décor, responsive staff and exam rooms cheerfully decorated with Disney, space and jungle themes, the clinic’s kid-friendly environment sets a welcoming tone. Plus, extended hours (9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday) make it easier for working parents to get appointments.
Patrick Taylor says they have never done marketing, and that positive reviews and word-of-mouth endorsements have driven all patient traffic.
Family care
Darneé Colbert, a mom of four living in Avon, first visited Children Express Care Clinic in 2022 on a friend’s recommendation when her oldest had pink eye. Torrance, who goes by TJ and is now 10, got a Transformer from TaQuita Taylor on that first visit. Colbert found Taylor to be personable, thorough and always educating.
Around three years ago, Taylor found that TJ’s blood sugar was high — meeting the threshold for prediabetes. She recommended lifestyle changes, including activity (he joined the football team) and dietary changes (less sugar and carbs overall). With his mom’s help, TJ was able to bring his blood sugar back into a normal range. Colbert said that was all the more significant given their family history of diabetes.
“[Taylor] actually helped us turn it around and he’s no longer prediabetic,” Colbert said.
It wasn’t long before, pregnant with her second child, she made Taylor her own primary care provider, too. Then she began bringing Priya, now 3, to the clinic along with her now 1-year-old twins, Xiya and Ariyah.
From regular well-child visits to sick care, Colbert estimates she’s taken her children to see Taylor dozens of times — despite having to drive 45 minutes to an hour with traffic to get there.
“I recommend this place to anybody,” she said.
Access and education
Taylor’s passion for medicine and educating patients traces back to well before she became a nurse practitioner. She grew up watching family, including her mom, take care of others. While they didn’t have medical degrees, she said, they shared a desire to help people.
“My great-grandmother was a caretaker,” Taylor said, recalling visits to her home in Mississippi. “We would go to her home and … she would have so many elderly geriatric clients or patients [congregating] around her doorstep.”
Today, Children Express Care Clinic is a link to health care for many families who have limited access and may only see a medical provider when they are sick, Taylor said. That makes patient education all the more important.
Taylor encourages families to find a primary care home, bring children in for well-child visits and get preventive care before medical issues snowball.
Federal cuts to programs such as Medicaid, however, could make it more difficult for many people to get care they need. Taylor said about 80% of the clinic’s patients use Medicaid and 5% are uninsured.
“I do see that there’s probably a lot more families that are going to be uninsured,” she said. “That tugs at my heart a little bit.”
The clinic offers a self-pay option ($149 per visit) for those not using insurance and aims to keep overhead low to sustain business and keep care accessible for the patients and families it serves.
“We do our best,” Taylor said.
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Michael Schroeder is a Mirror Indy freelance contributor. You can reach him at schroeder.michael.o@gmail.com.
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