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From Registered Nurse to CEO: Nathan Baar is Changing the Game in Primary Care Access
In this episode of Urban Game Changers, we speak with Nathan Baar, Founder and CEO of HealthBar, a Grand Rapids–based healthcare service reimagining how primary and preventive care is delivered. HealthBar operates a hybrid model that embeds clinical teams directly into workplaces and schools, supported by virtual access via phone, text, and email. Health Bar makes primary medical care care more accessible, personal, and proactive.
Nathan explains how HealthBar’s fixed-fee, cash-based model shifts incentives away from volume-driven sick care and toward healthy outcomes. By contracting directly with organizations instead of billing insurance, HealthBar provides unlimited primary care services while reducing reliance on emergency rooms, urgent care, and hospital systems. The intended result is better health for patients and lower costs for organizations.
The conversation also explores Nathan’s journey from registered nurse and emergency department director to entrepreneur, including the challenges of bootstrapping through COVID, navigating financial risk, and rebuilding the business around a long-term vision. We discuss healthcare access in urban communities, the importance of trust and continuity in care, and what aspiring healthcare entrepreneurs should understand before trying to scale a solution.
This episode offers a candid look at what it takes to build a mission-driven healthcare business: one focused on relationships, prevention, and sustainable impact.
- Urban Game Changers Episode 7
- Health Bar Fuels Primary Care Access
- Nathan Baar, CEO and Founder of HealthBar
- Release date: February 5, 2026
- Length: 41:41
- Executive Producer and Host: W. David Tarver
- Producer: Ben Reynolds
- Associate Producers: Anshiqa Agrawal and Felipe Furtado, MD