Our Philosophy
Our providers and the care we deliver are supportive of an integrative approach to health. We focus on providing primary care and naturopathic options for our patients. We have a family physician (MD) as our medical director, two family nurse practitioners (FNP), two physician assistants (PA) and 2 naturopathic physicians (ND). All of us are trained to provide primary care and many of us love to care for children.
All the providers here receive continuing training in allopathic and holistic medicine through seminars, conferences, and educational training sessions by our medical and naturopathic medical director. The allopathic providers here are experts in primary care and they have received additional training to be familiar with holistic health options. They are able to point you in the right direction and refer you to the right naturopathic physician or specialists to support patients who desire a more integrative approach. They are also trained to be familiar with the vitamins and supplements you are taking. The naturopathic providers here receive additional training in allopathic medicine on an ongoing basis so that they are familiar and know when you have a condition that requires you to see one of the allopathic providers or specialists. The providers all work together to support those who desire an integrative approach to their health.
We don’t just work in the same office; we are all part of a team that shares the same philosophy. We like each other, we talk all the time, we review cases together and we share the same medical record. We have regular case conferences where we share patient cases, and we often combine our expertise to provide true integration and excellence. Because we have providers that focus in certain conditions, many patients will in fact see several of us to benefit from that expertise. We function as a primary care clinic, as well as, a clinic that have areas of special focus such as food intolerance, gut health, male & female hormones, adrenal and thyroid health.
We take a root cause and holistic approach towards patient care. Traditional allopathic medicine is more organ or symptom based. We feel that by offering medical and holistic education, testing and treatment options for patients, this brings the power back to the patients to be able to tailor health care to change their own lives.
Our patient education usually includes major lifestyle and diet changes, and sometimes includes medications, naturopathic supplements, vitamins, and other alternative therapies when necessary. Our goal is to help people understand and adapt to or eliminate root causes so that they don’t have to have continuing symptoms or be destined for lifelong medications or supplements. This approach empowers patients to have a higher level of understanding beyond "I have to take this pill for the rest of my life "and it empowers them to do more to heal themselves.
Not everyone is ready to make major diet, lifestyle changes, or to get needed testing. This type of evaluation takes time, effort, and money. Some types of testing and holistic treatments are not covered by insurance. Some patients do not want any holistic options or lifestyle suggestions for their healthcare. This is why we evaluate a patient’s level of commitment, expectations, and readiness for change. We do not accept every patient into our practice nor do we keep every patient. Those expecting solely symptom oriented medicine only without making any changes to themselves and their root causes likely will not benefit from our approach. Those who do not want any holistic options in their care are better at a traditional medical clinic. We love treating those patients that are ready to learn and ready to make changes in their lives. We provide lots of information, education and explanations. We connect the dots which allow a patient to really understand why and how to make changes that matter.
We explain our philosophy in depth, because it is different than a traditional medical clinic. This is why we have assembled such a diverse and top notch group of providers who are all open minded and constantly getting more educated about many more options. We also work very closely with a network of medical specialists, counselors, personal trainers, physical therapists, acupuncturist, chiropractors, speech language pathologists, holistic nutritionists, and other holistic providers who understand and appreciate this approach. This completes our integrative care village around the patient. Our tools, our network, our providers and our staff provide a comprehensive therapeutic village. This is not just a job for us. This is a purpose driven mission.
If you have additional questions please feel free to ask when you make your appointment. Here’s to great health and a shout out to everyone who is ready for change! We are not your traditional medical office. We are Sherwood Family Medicine, an Integrative Health Center.