Celebrating One Year of Wellspring!

A drawing I was gifted that depicts my first official patient visit with late Earl Snypes after he was awarded his French Legion of Honor for service during the Battle of the Bulge.

July marks the one-year anniversary of Wellspring.

It’s hard to believe we’re already here and it certainly triggers a good deal of reflection. When asked along the way, “how it’s going?”, I often found myself shuffling through a variety of answers.

Good, most days…I think. Way too fast. I love it!

The truth is, this is probably the first time in my medical career that I’ve felt like a real family physician. When I started Wellspring, it wasn’t out of some desperation or bad relationship with my employer. It was out of a desire to offer care and health, relationship and support, encouragement and value. Our current health system is frustrating, I don’t think anyone would argue. Wellspring was started to offer an alternative and I think to that end, thus far, we’ve succeeded, and I’m exceedingly grateful to the entire community which has birthed and grown along the way.

Starting a business isn’t easy. This was never on my radar. As I look back, I’m most proud of and grateful for how much Wellspring reflects our community and I could never say thank you enough. From the art on our walls, to the interior design, the marketing and our wonderful patients. It’s truly becoming a place where our “family” has left their mark and each of you has played a role in the care that is received here every day. They say it takes a village, well…this is my baby. Thank you for helping guide, support and encourage her along the way.

Direct primary care is growing more and more every year. I know this model works in many places, but it seems to be exceedingly welcome and appropriate here. It feels like this is who we are in the valley, this is the character of Western North Carolina. We like dealing directly with one and other. We like the small scale, the hometown feel, and the culture that comes with it. So, I guess what I’m saying is "Thank You!" for letting me be a part of that culture and to serve this valley. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

In the early months of starting Wellspring I wrote a piece about what it means to be a family physician as a tribute to Dr. Barker’s retirement. You can read the entirety here, but the distilled version condenses family medicine down to a medical practice as defined by purity, goodness and sincerity. Those are hard metrics to achieve at scale. And while there is plenty we can do better at Wellspring, I believe it’s one of the purest deliveries of health care, done with a good heart and with a sincerity that wants to see you understand your value and feel supported in your goals.

I’ve practiced in many different settings through my career. Each has some benefits, each has some downfalls, and each had complicated incentives that muddy those waters. As we introduce a new season of healthcare delivery, my prayer is that we allow it to stay small, built on relationships and to maintain the purity, goodness and sincerity therein. I’m still blowing up the balloon as Wellspring grows, it just happens to be inside a glass jar, a glass jar that’s just the right size for our community.

So what’s ahead? What comes in years 2 and 3? I try to hold things loose. I have plans though. First let me say that from the outset I wanted Wellspring to be a kind of community supported clinic. Neighbors helping neighbors idea. To that end, Wellspring offers pro bono health care to a number of non-profits in the area including William’s Place and Elsewhere ministries. We’ve also assisted with urgent medical needs related to the resettlement of Afghan families in the past year. This is all possible thanks to each one of our members.

My plan is to continue to expand what we can do in the future. So while I hope you see value in the membership for yourselves, know that you’re also part of something much bigger. And again, thank you!

We also have an exciting partnership that is developing (hopefully this Fall…fingers crossed). Traditional clinical medicine focuses on addressing problems as they arise, but very little on wellness and prevention. With this new partnership I want to expand on offerings that practically address health through education and empowerment. We don’t lack for information in this day and age, but we definitely lack for simple, practical information. Each year our country seems to get a little sicker. The narrative in healthcare is clearly not working so maybe it’s time we change it.

I’ll end with a final thank you. Thank you for trusting me with your care. Thank you for allowing me to add to the culture of small business in Black Mountain. Thank you for supporting this growing movement of direct primary care as we strive to realign what the doctor patient relationship really is. I’m a big fan of J.R.R. Tolkien and in the hobbit he writes, “It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door. You step into the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.” This pretty much sums up my last year. I had no idea what this journey may hold, but it’s been the very best!