AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler
Brought to you by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu & Tai Chi
and Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services
Excitement was contagious as guests entered the offices of Katherine Grote’s new medical practice, Integrative Family NP LLC, for its Grand Opening on January 17th. It was a dream come true for Grote, a Nurse Practitioner who worked hard to achieve success in her profession and establish a practice of her own.
A veritable crowd of guests flowed through the suite of offices and Grote did her best to personally welcome them all.
Among the first people we spotted were Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber of Commerce CEO Liz League, who’d be emceeing the occasion and organizing a ribbon-cutting, and Beth Kuhl who was covering the event for What’s Up Magazine.
We next bumped into Trillium Wellness’ co-owners Carol Heckman and Lisa Manning who were chatting with Lisa’s mother Sharon.
Wandering on, we came upon a room that attendees seemed to be flocking to see.
On entering, we discovered a colorful, art-filled children’s exam room-turned-playroom full of youngsters putting together puzzles, creating artwork, or playing with toy cars and trucks. The children surrounded Grote’s daughter Betty who was helping out for the Grand Opening by supervising them.
One young lady preferred to watch the goings on from her perch on the children’s exam table designed to look like a bus full of animals. Artist Joanna Conte created he wonderful artwork and signage on the walls throughout the Integrative Family NP, LLC offices. She’ll be adding a few final touches.
Meantime, plants and flowers added a lovely touch to the rooms. They also hid the chamber member LogoZone Promotions’ Tommy Sommers happened to be talking to.
Family and friends who have supported Katherine Grote every step of the way to opening her own business were there to celebrate the occasion. Mother-in-law Fanny Grote lent a hand by welcoming guests and handing out water.
“I’m excited for Katherine,” Fanny said.
She thoroughly enjoyed chatting with her daughter-in-law’s close friends Katie Lukic and Susie Murphy.
Grand Openings tend to be great networking opportunities, and this one was no exception. There seemed to be a nice mix of friends, family, and people from local and state government and the business community.
Jessica Terenyi from JK Organizing LLC had an opportunity to chat with Asia Rodriguez from Maryland State Delegate Brian Chisholm’s office and also met Cape St. Claire residents Ron and Donna Baronati.
With most guests already arrived, it was time for Chamber CEO Liz League to conduct the official Grand Opening ceremony which included an interview with Katherine Grote about her background and her one-of-a-kind holistic integrative family medical practice.
We’d first met Katherine during a chamber sponsored Successful Women in Business Wine Tasting at Cheers & Spirits at Arnold Station in 2023.
Asked, on that occasion, to describe her business by SWIB event co-chair Nancy Greer, she stunned attendees by announcing that she was a Nurse Practitioner who’d started a family medical practice that included the almost forgotten custom of making “house calls”.
Following League’s welcome to the Grand Opening’s guests crowded around her, she introduced Integrative Family NP LLC’s innovative owner and asked her how she began.
“I was originally a floor nurse. I started as a nurse assistant with a belief in climbing the ladder,” Grote said. “I began climbing the ladder at that point and was determined to keep going.”
What Grote did not reveal was her extensive educational background. To be a Nurse Practitioner, you first need to be a Registered Nurse. That requires that you have a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing which takes four years of education. The next step is getting your Master of Science Degree in Nursing. For getting your MSN, most schools require that you have at least 1,000 hours of clinical time or work experience before you’re eligible to apply.
After getting her Master of Science in Nursing degree in Family Practice, Grote went on to additional training to acquire her Holistic Integrative Specialist certification so she could marry traditional Western medicine with alternative medicine.
Like most Nurse Practitioners, she had 11 years of schooling with heavy emphasis on clinical experience. (In contrast, family practice doctors generally spend four years working for their Bachelor’s degree and four years of medical school, plus a residency or fellowship for a similar total of about 11 years of schooling.)
When starting out with her own practice, Grote combined virtual telemedicine with house calls and offered limited office hours at Wellsview Cottage in Annapolis. The idea of offering house calls was inspired by personal experience. She is a triplet and, when her family had four children under the age of 15 months, it was too difficult to transport them all to a doctor’s office. Luckily, the family doctor came to them at home.
Patients really like the nurse practitioner’s ability to make house calls and her integrative approach to medicine. Thus, her business grew…. and continued growing. Eventually, she realized that she needed an office of her own.
She’d also wanted an office space in order to become a preceptor and give nurse practitioner students clinical experience.
(Clinical preceptors are experienced advanced practice registered nurses who combine their expertise in patient care with teaching ability to guide nursing students through their clinical rotations.)
“Getting the required hours of clinical experience in an active office is hard for nurse practitioner students,” Grote said. “Medical practices often don’t have formal relationships with NP’s so it’s hard to find an office where they can get and apprentice-type experience. Since I really enjoy teaching, I really want to offer this opportunity.”
Grote has a passion not only for taking care of people but for helping them improve their overall health. Thus, treating patients on a well-rounded basis that is integrative and holistic is important to her.
“I’ll be treating patients from newborns on up to 110,” she said. “I’m not a pill pusher and offer some Western medicine alternatives by working collaboratively with others who offer services like yoga, massage or acupuncture. I offer some pediatric vaccinations but do not require them.”
League brought her interview with Grote to an end by asking if there was anyone she’d like to thank and, of course, there were several – the most important being her husband Dan, an accountant who helped her every step of the way.
She also thanked her secretary Brenna Cummings, who will be giving massages at the practice in the evenings, and her administrator Tia Tyler who keeps her on schedule. She added a special thank you to artist Joanna Conte for her artwork and for the cheerfulness and energy she brought to the practice.
A very special moment occurred when Katherine Grote held up a stethoscope she had in her hand and asked daughter Betty, who hopes to follow in her mother’s footsteps and become an NP, to step forward.
“I’m presenting you with this stethoscope given to me years ago by a doctor when I began my own journey to become an NP,” she said as she placed the instrument around her daughter’s neck.
Betty was thrilled – so much so that she immediately used the stethoscope to examine her mother.
The Grand Opening ended with the presentation of several citations by Asia Rodriguez on behalf of Delegate Brian Chisholm, by James Golden of Golden Consulting on behalf of Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman, and Carol Heckman of Trillium Wellness on behalf of the Anne Arundel County Council among others. A Chamber ribbon cutting followed.
The Around The Park Again column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility while reducing stress. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center.)
and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services at 815 Ritchie Hwy., Suite 206 – When you need someone to lean on, Lean On Dee. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.
