Maria Jefferson-Walker, DNP, APN

"Maria Jefferson-Walker, DNP, APN, FNP-BC is not your typical nurse practitioner. She is the founder and CEO of her practice, Hope Wellness. HOPE is an acronym for Helping Our People Every Day, and for more than 20 years, Maria has been providing first-rate medical care to people in her community from all nationalities and cultures. She practices the direct primary care model of medicine, which emphasizes a patient-centered approach to health care, rather than paperwork and reimbursement codes. In addition to providing affordable, highly accessible, quality medical services to people in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, Maria has completed her doctorate in nursing practice at the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois. Her focus is on providing integrative, culturally sensitive health care to everyone. She believes in putting your needs and concerns above all else, and she sees nursing as a natural fit for a whole-patient approach to health care."

"Direct primary care is an affordable alternative approach to health care and medical services. Instead of dealing with costly co-pays and insurance claim forms, and waiting to get reimbursed, DPC allows you to pay a monthly, quarterly, or annual fee to the health care provider of your choice. In return for this “membership” or “retainer” fee, you have access to your medical practitioner whenever you need them. In many cases, DPC practitioners like Maria see fewer patients than traditional providers, so you get more individualized care, longer appointments, and same-day or next-day appointments. Additionally, direct primary care practitioners sometimes offer telemedicine services, meaning you can call to speak with your medical practitioner, or have video-chat appointments to discuss any medical issues or for follow-up care, at no extra charge."