Students Inspired by Health Care Revolutionary Dr. Delicia Haynes

Speaking in Cocoa and Melbourne Thursday as a guest of the Simpkins Entrepreneur Series, Dr. Delicia Haynes enthralled students with a description of her journey from dissatisfied patient to revolutionary patient advocate.

Haynes is credited as the first physician in Volusia County to adopt Direct Primary Care within her practice.

Family First Health Center, which operates globally from Daytona Beach, FL, employs a membership-based system that enables Haynes to provide patients with a range of primary care services for a flat monthly rate.

During her talk, Haynes outlined some of the unique features of the Direct Primary Care system, which included longer one-on-one time with doctors, access to a virtual healthcare system, same or next-day scheduling, individualized wellness plans and discounts on labs and testing.

"We really pride ourselves on taking that time to be patient advocates," she said.

The practice, of which Dr. Haynes is the Founder and CEO, also assists small businesses with providing health coverage to their employees, and encourages patients to discover and embrace the things in life that bring them joy. 

Haynes, who has suffered from depression in the past, makes a conscious effort to incorporate wellness into her treatment plans in addition to healing, pointing out that it is important "to involve all of the senses when it comes to treating disease."

The Simpkins Entrepreneur Series, co-sponsored by the College and Florida Today, is named after college benefactor Bernard Simpkins, a highly successful Space Coast entrepreneur responsible for bringing some of the nation's top business leaders to Brevard.

As part of the series, Simpkins also awards the $1,000 B.W. Simpkins Entrepreneurial Scholarship to students who embody true entrepreneurial spirit.

Thursday's recipient was EFSC student Jared Hunt, who is currently pursuing the Human Resource Management track in EFSC's Organizational Management Bachelor's degree program.

"The intrinsic feeling of achievement and the ability to build a great organization with a positive culture is a passion I have, and what I hope to bring to my company," Hunt wrote in his application essay.

"I believe that in any organization, a major key to success is making people around you happy and better off for interacting with your company."

A husband, father of three and first-generation college student, Hunt plans to continue his studies in addition to the volunteer work he does with local children's programs. 

"Thank you for adding the Bachelor degree programs," he added. "Without them, I may have never finished or been motivated to return to school."

Dr. Haynes echoed the importance of finding motivation, claiming that self-care is an important first step to meeting any goal:

"You don't have to be a doctor to save someone's life," she said. "You can start with yourself."