Dr. Darrin Jackson determined to bring back personal care
By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
SLIDELL – You have to admire Dr. Darrin Jackson for his courage to essentially take on the status quo of health care in America today.
Almost four years ago, the Slidell primary care doctor stepped away from working for a major health care company and followed his dream to open his own clinic, and do things his own way.
And incredibly, it seems to be working.
Jackson, with assistance from his wife Bianca in the front office, is heading for the fourth anniversary of Grace Health Clinic in Slidell. The 38-year-old physician said he wanted to “make health care more personal, kind of like the old time medicine. One thing for sure at our clinic, it is no assembly line of getting people in and out as quickly as possible.”
The success of Grace Health Clinic, with its steady growth since opening in August, 2018, seems to be a tribute to the formula.
“We get a lot of feedback about what we are doing here,” Jackson said. “People really appreciate the fact they see me every time they come in, and they have a very personal experience every time they are here.”
Jackson specializes in primary care medicine, but is also experienced with emergency care, and addiction treatment after working several years in a rehab clinic in Slidell. Additionally, the clinic offers treatment for mental health issues such as anxiety, depression and other disorders with Behavioral Therapist Aspen Harbges, a licensed clinical social worker.
Even though he believes his clinic does bring back thoughts of the way it was years ago for doctors, Jackson also offers current health care advances such as telemedicine, meaning you can have an appointment online too.
“The best thing I would say about coming to our clinic is that I know my patients. At the bigger clinics you might see one doctor the first time you show up, then you get sent to another doctor when you come again,” he said. “We don’t do that here. I have no quota, I go at my own pace, and I know every patient when they walk in here.”
Jackson would probably say “thank you” to his parents for his willingness to work hard enough that he can make it with his own clinic, particularly in a day and age when the major health care providers are swallowing up the little guys.
“My parents taught me a good work ethic, and my grandmother really had an impact on me about remaining humble, and to take care of people,” he noted. “Those are the main people who made me who I am today.”
Growing up in the small town of Liberty, MS, he began to see medicine as a career in the ninth grade when he fell in love with biology and anatomy courses.
He went on to Jackson State, graduating with honors in 2006, before working as a lab tech at the University of Mississippi. That’s where the doctor bug got him for good.
“I shadowed physicians and that’s all it took. I knew I wanted to be a primary care doctor where I could treat anybody with anything. I never know what I’ll be addressing when I walk in to see a patient,” he said. “I really like that.”
He earned his Master’s in Biomedical Material Sciences from the University of Mississippi in 2009, then after three years of residency, came to Slidell for a job with one of the major local health care companies. Two years later he knew he was ready to embark on his own.
“I always had it in my head that I wanted my own clinic,” he stated. “It was a risk for sure, and that’s why I took the part-time job with the Slidell addiction clinic to make sure we could do it. But it’s all paid off and now I love what we are doing at Grace.”
The clinic also specializes in helping those with no insurance, and they accept Medicare along with most health care insurance.
Grace Health Clinic is located at 1415 Corporate Square, Suite ‘A.’ For more information or to make an appointment, call 985-259-4854, or go online to their website at:
Thegracehealthclinic.com