Meet Deercreek Resident -Dr. Kim Dal Porto
By Joan Hecht
A native Floridian, Kim was born and raised in the Grove Park (Southside) area of Jacksonville. She graduated from Sandalwood high school and attended college at Stetson University, followed by medical school at University of South Florida and a pediatric residency at University of Alabama. She is a partner with Carithers Pediatrics and has practiced there for 26 years.
Kim married her husband, Jeff in 2008 and they became a blended family of 6 children (ages 8-16), with Kim’s two children and Jeff’s 4 sons, and their fur baby, Skylar. Both of Kim’s children are following in her footsteps and are currently in medical residencies: Alyssa in internal medicine at UF Gainesville and Kyle in anesthesiology at Mass General (Harvard). One of Jeff’s sons is in the US Navy in the nuclear program and another graduated from UNF with a degree in international business. He is currently studying Korean language in South Korea and Kim and Jeff look forward to visiting him there in the fall. Jeff’s other two sons work and reside in the Jacksonville area.
Early in their marriage, Kim and Jeff participated in 5 annual mission trips to the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. Jeff led the soccer ministry and Kim provided medical care to hundreds of patients of all ages. She provided similar medical treatment in Costa Rica on a subsequent mission trip. Although Kim says she deeply enjoyed those trips, she began asking God to use her in a more permanent, impactful way. In 2015, she learned about an orphanage at Okoa Refuge in Uganda and became 1 of 5 local doctors who accepted the volunteer challenge of founding a medical clinic at the Okoa Refuge. The clinic became a reality at their grand opening in 2017 and is open 7 days/week (24 hours if needed). It includes a pharmacy, lab and a dental facility that provides fillings, extractions, and root canals. They expanded their services in 2021 with the addition of a second phase that includes a maternity ward, a small surgical theater and a nourishment ward to feed the malnourished. The clinic also assists with the Okoa sex trafficking centers, providing care for victims of sex trafficking. Kim has served on the Okoa board for 6 years, the past three years as chair. The clinic is now solely run by Ugandan nationals, under the umbrella of Okoa Refuge. Kim has volunteered her services at Okoa for six separate years and plans additional trips in the future.
Kim’s volunteer efforts are not limited to distant Africa. She volunteers her medical expertise locally as well- sometimes right here in “The Creek.” One morning she received a knock at her door, alerting her that a fellow neighbor was found unconscious in their driveway. Without hesitation, Kim ran out the door to offer assistance. It wasn’t until Jacksonville Fire and Rescue arrived and one of the firefighters (a father of one of her patients) called out, “Hi, Dr. Kim!” that she realized she was standing in the street, dressed in her satin Jaguar pajamas!
Kim also serves on the board of “Bring Your Brokenness,” a faith based non-profit, which established a residential home in Yulee for women with eating disorders. Unlike other such facilities in the US, they not only accept insurance, but they also offer scholarships to make it more affordable to the neediest in our area.
What brought you to Deercreek?
In 2014, we were helping my mother search for a new home. One of the places we visited was Deercreek. From the moment Deercreek resident and realtor, Carny Kirtley, drove us around the neighborhood and golf course, introducing us to members of the community, we just knew we had to live here. We feel like we’re on a permanent vacation!
Favorite Deercreek memory:
We get together with our neighbors frequently and during covid we met on the fifth green in our lawn chairs for happy hour. That’s a special memory for me, because even in the most difficult of times, when people of the world were isolating and separating from others, our Deercreek neighbors still gathered together (while social distancing) to socialize and support one another.
Hobbies and Special Interest:
In my spare time, I like to read, relax, and walk my dog. Jeff and I also enjoy traveling and have been working on our bucket list both in the US and internationally.
