Dr. Foyekemi Ikyaator, the 32-year-old doctor who opened Life Savers Emergency Room, and free standing, full service emergency room in Houston, TX. Photo courtesy of KUT.org
At just 32 years old, Dr. Foyekemi Ikyaator is revolutionizing emergency room service. Ikyaator and her husband opened the Life Savers Emergency Room in December 2015 to satisfy the medical need in Houston, KUT. org reports. Per the Houston Profile Magazine, the ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on January 15, 2016.
The facility is a stand-alone, 24-hour emergency room equipped to provide patients with the quality service they would normally receive at a hospital.
According to the Life Savers Emergency Room website, the medical establishment has a strict no-wait policy, boasting an average wait time of 0 to 5 minutes. The facility is also equipped with a pharmacy, radiology equipment, and onsite laboratory, further eliminating the wait time for patients. It also provides free flu shots and free CPR classes.
During an ‘In Black America’ segment on KUT.org, Ikyaator expressed her frustration with the “clogged” waiting room system.
“You just start seeing the repetitiveness of the clogged system where you can’t get patients out of the ER, and you can’t get patients [waiting in] the waiting room inside the ER to get treatment,” she explained.
The Nigeria native also added that she would often pull waiting room patients to the side to start their work up, according to Essence.
On a full scholarship, Ikyaator studied medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Per KUT.org, she then completed her residency in emergency medicine in 2012 at Atlanta’s Emory School of Medicine and Public Health. She wanted to continue her practice and moved to Houston. There, she gained even more experience while working within the St. Luke’s Health System, KUT.org reports. Just a few years later, she opened Life Savers Emergency Room.
Ikyaator now serves as the facility’s medical director, which allows her to be more hands-on with patients and administer the care they need, according to Essence. She explained her reasoning behind establishing Life Savers Emergency Room, recalling the long wait times patients would have to endure because of the overcrowded emergency rooms.
“I worked in a few ERs in Houston and often I’d get to work and there are 15-20 patients in the waiting room waiting on me,” Ikyaator said. “There are patients in the ER waiting to be admitted; there are patients who are admitted and can’t get a bed upstairs so they’re taking up space.”
Per the Life Savers Emergency Room website, patients’ health is a top priority, so the facility takes a lot of pride in ensuring little to no wait time.
“You don’t know if there’s a heart attack waiting in the room, and you’re responsible for everyone that comes in there,” Ikyaator explained.
Since its grand opening, Life Savers Emergency Room has received 5-star reviews on Google and popular social media platforms, Houston Profile Magazine reports.
The magazine also notes that Ikyaator is is a minority in her field, yet continues to thrive in a lane she created all on her own.
“As a young Black female, mother and leader in medicine, she is pressing the bar a little higher and bridging the gap a little closer so that the next person can impress and charm the masses by representing odds defied,” the article states.
