“The part I want to emphasize the most is all the fun we had, the absolute joy we felt in caring for our families.”
These are the words of Guardian Pediatrics’ founding partner, Dr. Claudia Somes, in a recent conversation about her history in private practice and the legacy she’s created. Her sentiments were seconded by her long-time business partner and friend, Dr. Lynda McCollum, who spoke with nostalgia as she reminisced lovingly of the families they served, many of whom they continue to keep in touch with today.
Imagine: it’s the early 1980s in Indianapolis. You’ve recently completed your pediatric residency training at Riley Hospital for Children at a time when women physicians were the exception rather than the rule. This is the backdrop against which Dr. Somes began making decisions for her practice and career, setting in motion what would eventually become the Guardian Pediatrics we see today.
The term “trail blazers” comes to mind while listening to Drs. Somes and McCollum describe their early years in private practice. Business ownership was not part of standard medical training curriculum, therefore crucial lessons were made in real time. Decisions that could sink or swim their livelihoods were made on a trial and error basis as they climbed a steep learning curve. In this trial-by-fire setting, they showed an astounding amount of innate business sense.
Running a tight ship could mean the difference between success and throwing in the towel, so they saved money whenever they could, which often meant rolling up their sleeves rather than hiring out. Dr. Somes and Dr. McCollum, along with their trusted office staff, acted as their own office managers, billing departments, business consultants, Human Resources, janitorial crew, and contractors. Dr. Somes’s daughter even hand-painted many of the murals that you see today in the exam rooms. There truly is a special energy when you enter Guardian Pediatrics, as the homey atmosphere that originated in the early years has been carefully maintained.
If you ask these two ground breakers about the legacy they are most proud to have created, they both agree: solid patient care that goes the extra mile. Guardian Pediatrics was founded on the principle that humanizing the practice of medicine and providing reliable access to a medical home are the keys to healthy patient outcomes. They opened their doors in the time before hospital-based care existed, so they saw patients in the office, rounded on newborns, admitted their own patients to the hospitals day and night, took home call, and took turns seeing patients Saturdays and Sundays, all while running the business and raising their own young families. Through all this hard work, they maintained a focus on compassionate patient care, and to this day continue to speak passionately about what it meant to them through the years to offer approachable and accessible care to families.
Dr. Somes and Dr. McCollum practiced for decades and witnessed much change in the world around them, yet their devotion to their patients never wavered. Patients and their families remain the central focus of Guardian Pediatrics, and it is an honor to carry their legacy forward in this way.
Guardian Pediatrics is grateful to our founding partners, Dr. Somes and Dr. McCollum, for their foresight, grit, and unwavering determination. They were ahead of their times in many ways, and continue to inspire us. Their dream many years ago has now become our dream, and we will strive to honor them as we continue to serve.
