NorthShore Health Centers is welcoming Dr. Narayan Prabhakar to their team. A family physician with years of experience and a drive to serve the underserved, Prabhakar is eager to help NorthShore accomplish their core mission – provide quality of care to everyone, regardless of ability to pay.
Many physicians and other healthcare professionals have similar stories about how they entered the field – a childhood interest that bloomed into something more, or a sudden spark igniting a passion. It was a little different for Prabhakar, though, who immigrated to the US with his family as a teenager.
“My uncles were doctors, and I kind of emulated them a little bit,” he said. “I liked the classes in high school, and it interested me going into college so I kind of took after them by going into this field of medicine.”
Prabhakar is a graduate of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and attended med school at American University of the Caribbean. He then moved on to completing his residency at Mount Sinai in Chicago, where he was named Chief Resident in his third year.
After finishing his education, he spent most of his career working in the underserved communities of Chicago.
“I think this is what I’m passionate about, taking care of the underserved,” he said. “There are a lot of folks who don’t have a lot of choices on where to go, and I want to be there for them and to make a difference in their lives.”
Some of the patients he sees have very limited experience with getting medical treatment; even trips to the doctor are unfamiliar to many. One of his favorite parts of the job is helping those patients through that experience.
“You go home each day and feel good having taken care of somebody who might be new to you,” he said. “They might’ve never had care and now they know they have a place they can come to that will take care of them. Insurance, no insurance, it doesn’t matter. We’re here for you.”
Accordingly, he makes patient comfort and understanding his first priority.
“It’s really important that we build trust and help patients get comfortable with us,” he said. “Sometimes it clicks right away, sometimes it takes a few visits, but they come around and understand that this is someone that really cares about me, that’ll be there for me all the time. It’s not just about taking care of their condition that’s in front of you that day, it’s about tying everything together and helping make a patient healthy, happy, and whole.”
Prabhakar is married to his wife and has two kids. He enjoys spending his off-time with his family, traveling, and exercising.
To learn more about NorthShore Health Centers, visit northshorehealth.org.
