Kimberly Bean, MSN, FNP-C, isn’t from the Lowcountry — she grew up in New Jersey — but like many folks in our area, she got here as fast as she could.
After earning her undergraduate degree from the University of South Carolina in Columbia, Kimberly traded garnet for orange and earned her Master of Science in Nursing from Clemson University before working in the Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System and in the internal medicine department of the Medical Group of the Carolinas.
Then came the opportunity to relocate to the coast, so Kimberly, her husband, Daniel, and their two small children made the move to Bluffton in 2017 and began laying down roots in the fertile Lowcountry soil. In 2020, daughter Allie was born, and in 2021, the board-certified nurse practitioner joined Beaufort Memorial Bluffton Primary Care in Okatie.
A Family That Plays Together
When their son, Anthony, now 9 years old and a fourth grader, and daughter Alyssa, 8, a third grader, were old enough to take up rec sports, Kimberly and Daniel always volunteered for a role, usually tag-teaming as the coaching staff. With 3-year-old Allie bound to hit the field soon, their volunteer coaching days are far from over.
“We’re big believers that sports are important for kids,” Kimberly says. “Sports teaches them so much about discipline and accountability, being part of a team, and putting the team before yourself, all the things you learn from that. That’s another reason we love to be involved.”
When Anthony took up football and began playing with the grassroots Bluffton Bulldogs youth program, Kimberly went looking for her role, as usual, but didn’t feel like “Coach” was the right hat to wear in this particular arena. But she noticed there was no real medical personnel on-site for most games. She began inquiring about how she might be able to help remedy that.
“Years ago, they used to have paramedics and the ambulance at the games,” Kimberly explains. “They can’t really afford to pay for that anymore because the cost for those services has risen substantially. We’re talking about a youth organization that relies fully on volunteers from the concession stand to front gate crews to anybody who coaches or who might help on the sidelines.”
She had found her purpose and place on the sideline.
Read More: Head Off Sports Injuries Before They Happen
An Essential Mission
“Being a mom and a nurse practitioner and knowing that people can get injured, especially with football …,” Kimberly says, rattling off breath-taking examples of scenarios in which volunteer coaches were tasked with handling responsibilities that could quickly turn tragic if not left to trained medical personnel.
Using the medical expertise gleaned from her two decades in nursing and nearly 15 years as a nurse practitioner, Kimberly collected supplies to build a medical kit akin to what an athletic trainer would carry to high school or college games. She also secured a pop-up tent to serve as a medic area on the sidelines during games. Players or cheerleaders can visit the tent throughout the game to receive treatment for turf burns or to wrap or re-wrap tender ankles or wrists so they can stay in the game. More importantly, any player exhibiting signs of a concussion can be evaluated promptly by qualified medical personnel.
“We can help even if they just get the wind knocked out of them or they’re overheated, which is common early in the season,” Kimberly says. “These kids can be as young as 6 or 7 years old, and they’re terrified that they can’t breathe, and their parents aren’t there and they’ve got all these pads on. It just provides some comfort from a parent’s standpoint and some assurance from a medical standpoint that we’re serving the kids’ best interests.”
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Kimberly has also been able to serve as a liaison to help parents navigate the health care landscape following a more serious injury, advising them on next steps after fractures or ligament tears and offering referrals when needed. She also helped the organization secure an AED from the Arrhythmia Alliance to keep on the sidelines in case of sudden cardiac arrest, a growing concern for young athletes, especially football players.
Giving Back, Every Day
Kimberly has continued the volunteer role even after her son Anthony elected not to play football this fall.
“It’s just getting them the help they need and filling a basic role,” she says. “It’s not really a position that would necessarily be filled if I wasn’t there to fill the shoes. It’s just recognizing that our neighbors in the community have a need, and it’s not just football. There are a lot of needs in our community.”
If only we had more people like Kim Bean to fill them.
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