The idea for Hope Family Medicine actually began in the slums of Ethiopia. Shortly after graduating college, Dr Gonzalez went with a group from her church in Boston, MA to care for impoverished women and families afflicted by HIV/AIDs in the capital city of Ethiopia. At this point, being a doctor was not on her radar— she went to lead small groups, provide counseling, and support the medical staff. Her eyes were opened, though, as here, of all places, she saw health care the way it should be: care that focused on the overall wellness of a person and not just doctors treating diseases. On the plane ride back home across the Atlantic she resolved to become a doctor—one who would treat people, not disease, and who would recognize that health is physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.

Fast forward several years and Dr. Gonzalez was now in residency in Wichita and starting to see just how challenging it would be to be the kind of doctor she imagined in the current medical culture in the United States. She first learned of the Direct Primary Care, or DPC, model her final year of training and tucked the idea in the back of her mind as intriguing. Graduating, she went off to her ideal type of practice—one where she could practice “full scope” Family Medicine (meaning taking care of all ages and stages, inpatient care, outpatient care, procedures, and even delivering a bunch of cute babies). In many ways it was wonderful. Over and over again, though, she became frustrated that her hands were frequently tied and her time was often gobbled up by prior authorizations, “meaningful use” requirements, insurance denials, and quite frankly, a whole lot of entities making medical decisions for her patients that are best made between the doctor and the patient.