Wellspring’s Newest Team Member: Dietitian Clara Collie
Wellspring Direct Primary Care is more than just a clinic for when you get sick – our vision is to provide health care in the truest sense of the words. This means caring for you and your family holistically, supporting your wellness across all areas of your life.
As Wellspring continues to grow, we have all sorts of big ideas on how to support your health and wellbeing. Our next step: We’ve hired a dietitian!
I am delighted to introduce you to Clara Collie, RD, LDN, CPT.
As Clara gets started, we are dreaming about what it looks like to support the wellness of our members, and how to become a rich resource for health education and trusted health coaching. Soon we will be rolling out new educational materials, group visit opportunities, and an option to add individualized coaching and consultation! Clara is also working on a few exciting projects for the clinic…stay tuned.
Our wellness philosophies are closely aligned: We recognize the powerful healing properties that nutrient-dense, whole foods provide to our bodies. Consuming a diet rich in these whole, minimally processed foods is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle, and we could all benefit from ways to cultivate that lifestyle in our everyday lives.
I’d like to introduce you to Clara with a brief Q&A to help you get to know her a bit and get a glimpse of her passion for helping others through wellness coaching.
We are so glad to have you join the Wellspring team! Can you give our members a brief intro of yourself?
I’m excited to officially be a part of the team with Wes, Lindsey, and Amanda!
I’m a registered dietitian, certified personal trainer, and self-proclaimed wellness enthusiast. I moved to Asheville in 2015 to complete my dietetic internship after graduating from the University of Georgia and have spent the last 6 years working as a dietitian in the hospital setting, while also running my own blog. My greatest passion in the field lies in equipping, empowering, and encouraging patients to build a healthy relationship with food, learn how to nourish their bodies well without the fad diets and trends, and ultimately achieve their version of optimal health. I’m thrilled to join Wellspring to further live out this mission with our members.
Can you give us a snapshot of your wellness philosophy?
I believe that wellness is multi-dimensional, encompassing far more than just our physical health, but also including aspects such as our emotional, mental, spiritual, environmental, and vocational wellness. We can’t address one aspect of health without also addressing the others, as everything is connected.
Wellness is highly individualized — there is no “one size fits all” here! I implement an evidence-based, holistic, and individualized approach, working with patients to find ways to implement small, practical, and personalized actions that are unique to their goals and values, to lead to big changes in their overall wellbeing.
When it comes to our food choices, I practice from the belief that food plays many roles in our lives, and each role deserves a place at the table. While food can provide physical nourishment and has the powerful potential to fight off disease, I also honor the role that food plays in social connections, cultural traditions, and life experiences. We can engage with food in a way that nourishes both body and soul. Each role is important to create a balanced, vibrant, and healthy relationship with all food.
Simplicity beats complexity every time. I strive to make nutrition, and wellness, as simple and sustainable as possible so that patients feel empowered and confident in their ability to carry out the daily habits that support a healthy lifestyle.
Why have you started at Wellspring?
After 5 years of being in the clinical hospital setting working with patients to help manage the many disease states they suffered from, I found myself increasingly frustrated with the current model of healthcare and its lack of focus on preventative care, lifestyle medicine, and practical support offered to patients.
I came to realize my passion lies in educating and equipping patients to be empowered, active participants in their health, and to provide them with the tools, knowledge, and support needed to help manage, prevent, or even reverse many of the disease states they’d suffered from, to ultimately redeem and enjoy a better quality of life for years to come.
By and large, the vast majority of patients I saw were suffering from debilitating complications of chronic conditions — the same chronic conditions that are the leading causes of death in the US, yet could be prevented by eliminating poor diet, inactivity, and smoking. Less than 3% of the population actually engages in these.
The more I spoke with patients, the more I realized it was less about lack of willpower or desire, and more about the lack of access to an uplifting, supportive community and a strong relationship with a trusted healthcare provider that meet them where they are and believe in them.
I admire the relational, understanding, innovative, and holistic approach that Wellspring takes in caring for patients, making decisions based on what is best for the patient and their overall well-being. The focus on integrating a proactive, lifestyle medicine approach to prevent, treat, and possibly reverse chronic conditions to empower patients in their health closely aligned with my beliefs and philosophy. It felt like a perfect fit, and I’m honored to be a part of such a warm and inspiring team leading the way in a new way to do healthcare.