Ralston Lockett “gets” health inequity on a highly personal level.
As a clinician lead at Q Care Plus, an Avita Care Solutions company, the nurse practitioner partners with covered entities to deliver innovative, telehealth-based HIV prevention and treatment services to some of the nation’s most marginalized communities. As a child, he watched his family struggle to access comprehensive medical care. “We came from a one-stoplight town in Louisiana, where the best career option for many of my family members was working in a chicken plant,” Ralston says. “Seeing my family face these disparities was a driving force for me to get into healthcare. I wanted to speak up for them but also to advocate for people from all walks of life. That’s my “why”—why I get up every day and why my work doesn’t feel like work at all.”
Seeing my family face health disparities was a driving force for me to get into healthcare. I wanted to speak up for them but also to advocate for people from all walks of life.
"There’s never a dull moment” when delivering the best patient outcomes
The first male in his family to go to college, Ralston decided to pursue his studies at Prairie View A&M University, a historically Black university in Texas. There, he received his bachelor’s in biology and registered nursing and his master’s in family practice nursing. He recently earned his AAHIVS certification from the American Academy of HIV Medicine and is working toward his doctorate in nursing practice. Ralston’s career progression has taken him from a role as an emergency room (ER) nurse at a large Veterans hospital to his current role at Q Care Plus, where, in addition to providing direct patient care, he upholds and guides clinical practices and standards and acts as a primary liaison with covered entity partners and the Avita Pharmacy team.
“I’ve learned so much in this role,” Ralston says. “There’s never a dull moment. As a clinician lead, I can grow as a practitioner. But I also help educate patients, professionally develop other practitioners, and collaborate with our partners. None of us are living in a silo. It takes a lot of collaboration to deliver the best patient outcomes.”
I’ve learned so much in this role. There’s never a dull moment. It takes a lot of collaboration to deliver the best patient outcomes.
"We want to see patients be their best selves.”
Ralston describes his care philosophy as “patient-forward” and says it pairs perfectly with delivering care via telehealth. “That’s the beauty of digital health,” he explains. “We can deliver care to individuals who would typically not choose to go in or have access to a brick-and-mortar healthcare setting. Whether it’s members of the LGBTQ+ community or heterosexuals, many patients don’t feel comfortable talking to their primary care providers about their sexual health needs or think that they don’t have a voice.”
But by working collaboratively with Q Care Plus’ covered entity partners, “We listen to patients and make sure they know they have an advocate in their corners,” Ralston says. “There’s a whole team behind them that wants to see them be their best selves.”
For example, Ralston says that recently, he cared for a patient who was divorced after 20 years of marriage and was interested in starting pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a medicine that can reduce the risk of contracting HIV by 99%. “He was experiencing this new part of his life, and it tugged on my heartstrings a bit,” Ralston says. “It takes courage to tell a stranger, ‘I want to protect myself. I still have much more life to live and explore.’”
Ralston is honored to help patients get to a place of acceptance about their sexual health needs. “It’s a journey,” he says. “I always say that we are on this journey together.”
We listen to patients and make sure they know they have an advocate in their corners. There’s a whole team behind them that wants to see them be their best selves.
TEAM MEMBER SNAPSHOT
Name: Ralston Lockett, APRN, FNP-C, AAHIVS
Title: Clinician Lead, Q Care Plus
Location: Houston, Texas (Ralston delivers care via telehealth)
Recommended resources for patients:
“We know days are stressful, and having peace of mind is key. I advise patients to go for a walk or find a spot in their homes to relax. They can turn on their favorite playlists, binge on a show, or talk with friends. My other favorite patient resources are Headspace, white noise playlists, and the Apple fitness app for monitoring daily activities.”
Advice to covered entities partnering or looking to partner with a telePrEP provider:
“Make sure to have an open-door policy that fosters transparency and communication so that if there are any concerns or recommendations from either side, we can easily voice them. That allows us to help your patient base grow as we provide the best quality of care together. You’re not in a bubble by yourself. We’re here to help your organization achieve its mission.”
Professional organizations/pastimes/hobbies:
Ralston is a member of the American Academy of Nurses, the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (ANAC), the American Academy of HIV Medicine (AAHIVM), and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. He also enjoys going to concerts, traveling with friends and family, listening to R&B music, photography, and cooking with his French bulldog, Artemis Luna.
