Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

Daughters Of Zion CNPP Grantee Announces Angela Oigbokie, Angela Batts, Sharay Thomas, & Jacqueline Buford – Pentacare- As The DOZ CNPP Entrepreneur Of The Week- November 27, 2022 -December 3, 2022

Angela Oigbokie, Angela Batts, Sharay Thomas, & Jacqueline Buford 

Number of Employees: 4

Business phone # (901) 569 0208

As part of our follow-up to the progress the Daughters of Zion CNPP grantee is making within Memphis, Shelby County, and beyond- we are highlighting the weekly Entrepreneur of the Week Award. When asked why Angela Oigbokie, Angela Batts, Sharay Thomas, & Jacqueline Buford  were selected as the entrepreneurs of the week, Natalee Peart declared,“

Pentacare is going to be one of the best healthcare organizations because of the dedication and commitment of the team. They have spent a considerable amount of time putting their vision and dream together. They were chosen because of how they have been persistent in getting Pentacare established. Daughters of Zion does not only provide assistance to established businesses but also to individuals who want to start one. We are excited to be with Pentacare at the inception and will continue to be a guide throughout its growth and development “

Angela Oigbokie, Angela Batts, Sharay Thomas, & Jacqueline Buford answered several questions for the Entrepreneur of the Week.

Q: Please tell us your full name and share a little bit about yourself.

A: Hello, my name is Angela Oigbokie. I am a Doctoral Prepared Nurse Practitioner as well as a Family Nurse Practitioner.  I am also an Associate Professor at the University of Memphis. I practice primarily with the young adults. I’m doing Urgent and Acute Care in Nursing fields such as Occupational Health, Critical Care, Student Health as well as Community Health.

My name is Angela Batts. I have a Masters degree in Nursing. I’ve been in Nursing for about 22 years. I specialize in Medical Surgical Nursing, Cardiac Nursing, School Health, Occupational Health, and I’m currently working in Case Management and Utilization Review so I’ve done a number of things. 

Hello, my name is Sharay Thomas and I’m a Registered Nurse. I’ve been in Nursing for over 28 years. I have experience in Cardiology, Home Health, Case Management, Utilization Review, Community Health and I am currently a School Health Nurse.

I am Jacqueline Buford. I have been in Nursing for 30 years. I’ve been a Nurse Practitioner for 5 years and I’m a Doctoral Prepared Nurse Practitioner. I have worked in many areas of Nursing from Home Health, School Health, and Community Health and also hospitals and hospices. You name it I’ve done it and I’m very excited to be an entrepreneur for Pentacare.  Currently, I practice part-time as a Women’s Health Nursing Practitioner and I’m a full-time Associate Nursing Professor for University of Memphis.

Q: How did the vision for Pentacare come about?

A: Actually it came about with us just kind of having conversations, realizing that there are so many health disparities and there was very little access to healthcare in rural areas. We kept hearing it on the news and one of our mantras is – use what we have. We have all these skills so why don’t we use what we have to help others. So we realized that our nursing degrees and profession was not just for us but for us to give back to the community, thus the birth of Pentacare.

Q: I know you are not yet formally registered but you are working on it? But how long have you been working on this dream?

A: So we have actually been working on our dream for about a year and a half.  It started during Covid where we were seeing patients and talking about what we were being faced with. There were various obstacles and so we decided that there is something that we can do. So for about a year and half or so, we kind of just kept talking about it and now we are at the point where we have decided to step out on faith.

Q: What kind of services will you be providing?

A: Ok, so if you want to receive and be with a company that has compassion, integrity, is committed, professional and provides health equity for all, then you want to come to Pentacare because we are providing the most high-quality economical healthcare –  just the best care around. As you all say Natalee, “the best around pound for pound”. That’s what we’re going to be. We may be small but we are going to be “the best around pound for pound” that’s Dr. Kiner’s words.

Q: Are you providing service to a particular area in the community, or a particular population or who are the services for?

A: The services are for everybody in the community, from 2 days old until you are 99 years old.  The services we provide will be provided to all.

Q: Do you provide services for chronic diseases? 

A: Yes, we will- that’s our aim. We will be providing preventive care annual exams, obgyn exams – we are trying to reach the high-risk population; the young people – giving std screenings, sexual transmitted diseases screenings, doing papsmears for ladies that are from whatever age  – from 21-65. We’ll also be providing immunization and occupational health.

Q: Is it going to be a mobile unit or is it going to be a fixed building?

A: We are probably going to do a little bit of both.

Q: Where are you now in terms of getting Pentacare established?

A: We are in the development stages of our business plan.

Q: How did you come up with the name of your business?

A: So actually, it is the 4 of us but our main partner is God. He is the head. So Him plus us makes 5. Thus Pentacare.

Q: What’s the importance of trademarking that name?

A: We can use it for our logo and for our emails we already have it for our name so no one else can use that name. They can use Pentacare, but they can’t use Pentacare Health Services. So you know Pentecare was already taken so we had to go along with Pentacare Health Services to make sure we got our name in.

Q: How did you hear about the Daughters of Zion Community Navigator Pilot Program?

A: Actually, I heard about it when I was riding down the street and we had already started talking about our business.  You all were on the radio and I called the number and you said sure you all can come down to the meeting. It was just amazing to see what you all did. Because I had said to myself before going that they are not going to be doing all this but when we got there, you really showed us the reality of who you really are, you all are helping with everything and you don’t mind doing it. It’s just been a blessing from the Daughters of Zion for what you all do for everyone. You keep us encouraged when we feel like we can’t do anything anymore. When I come on Saturdays – you are like – ok it’s time to get it. So it’s like you all are our corner man, you keep us going. We may be feeling beat up but you all are like, you can go another round. And so we appreciate that because you all keep us going. 

Q: How have we helped you and what are some impacts you are hoping to see from your business? What are some inroads that your business is going to make?

A: So we are hoping that we can help our patients have the best life and outcome they can possibly have and that we are a part of that.  We want to provide them with health education so they will be able to make informed decisions. We are hoping to educate our patients so they will have a better understanding of these processes, understand the importance of seeing their providers, going to the clinic and the importance of taking care of themselves for longevity and long healthy lives.  We want to help build and  be a part of the community 

Q: What are some challenges you see ahead?

A: Well, just being four women, we believe that is a challenge within itself.  Going into a new area that we are not necessarily familiar with, as we are starting something new and bringing something to a community. Other challenges –  just kind of starting out on our own and doing something that is new and doing something that hasn’t necessarily been done the way that we deliver care. So I think that within itself will be a challenge but it will also be a blessing once our patients start to come see us.  Changing the culture of the community, knowing their mindsets about healthcare about even just going to the doctor and also establishing that trust.

Q: I know a lot of people, especially in the community of color, there are a lot of misservices for health services and health care. How do you plan to break that?

A: Being transparent, being open and honest and hopeful that when they see us and we look like them can make some type of connection. We see them as a partner in healthcare, (we are) not a dominating (figure), but a partner with them and (thereby) allowing them to have a voice in their care. And also showing them that we are going to be there for them. It’s not just that you come in, we see you today and we don’t talk to you from then on, we are basically going to be following up to let them know we are there for them and that’s what they don’t see a lot of. When they come in (at other places) they are just a  number –  the doctor doesn’t have time to talk to them. (The patients) talk for over 5 minutes and they (the healthcare staff) haven’t heard anything they have said or they don’t give them a chance to say anything. We want to make sure they (our patients) have that voice, like Angela said, that voice (makes them)  know that we do care. And from this approach (they will know) we are working with them and not for them.

Q: What do you have in place and how will you come up with your pricing plan?

A: We have kind of started looking at competitive prices and on some preventive services. We have been doing that off and on so that’s going to be where we kind of start. We were doing some comparisons and kind of figuring out where we need to be and where our price is. That’s as far as we have gotten. We are also going to bring in a coding specialist because they can really tap into insurance plans and their rate terms. I’ve seen it where the doctor performed the services and they just didn’t bill it right to get the full reimbursement.  They did ten things but only got paid for three because they didn’t code it correctly. So pretty much that (coding specialist)  will be along with our own ground work but they will be a big part of us. So we will make sure the billing encompasses everything we are doing for the care.

Q: Why should patients come to Pentacare?

A: Dr. Kiner’s words, “pound for pound we’re gonna be the best around”. We are women, we are mothers and we are nurturers and we understand. We kind of understand a whole lot

Angela Oigbokie DNP, MSN, MBA-HCM, APRN, FNP-C, BS, RN
Angela Batts MSN, RN
Sharay Thomas RN
Jacqueline Bowen Buford DNP, MSN, FNP-BC

To sign up for free DOZ CNPP business coaching and training use the link below:

http://daughtersofzion.org/intake-form/

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