Today we’d like to introduce you to Catherine Kelly Pierce.
Hi Catherine Kelly, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I am passionate about being a nurse and sharing information, or knowledge with my patients and the community. Before I was a nurse practitioner, I was a nurse educator and I learned I loved teaching. I believe in providing my patients with the information they may need to make the best decision for themselves, so they can meet their healthcare goals. I have been practicing functional medicine for close to four years now. I started out in Layton, Utah under the standard insurance model. Billing insurance is appropriate when you see patients every 15 minutes; however, as a functional medicine provider, I spend an hour with my patients. The Layton clinic closed its doors in January 2022, and I had to choose between opening my own clinic or going back to primary care and seeing patients every 15 minutes. I decided to do what I am passionate about, and I opened my medical clinic, Wasatch Functional Medicine, in South Ogden, Utah, in February 2022. Most functional medicine clinics are self-pay clinics that can cost up to $500 per hour or offer a package for a fixed price that includes a set number of visits over a set period. Package prices can range from $5,000 to $15,000. I wanted to make functional medicine available to more people who seek out and need a new perspective on health care, so I created a price point that does that for my patients. I also treat patients holistically, rather than one problem or concern for that fixed price. I specialize in gastrointestinal health issues, autoimmune disorders, bioidentical hormone replacement, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, and women’s health issues such as incontinence and vaginal rejuvenation. We also do some esthetics involving radiofrequency micro needling and skin tightening for the face and body. I wanted to provide a non-toxic and natural esthetic option to my patients, and therefore we introduced esthetics to the clinic. We also offer a skincare line with all-natural ingredients and no added fillers.
Every service we offer in the clinic has been carefully selected to fit our goals and mission at the clinic. Most chronic diseases come from inflammation in the body, so our goal is to bring down inflammation and not create it.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I have been in business for almost one year and it’s definitely worth celebrating! The transition from employee to business owner was not smooth. One of my greatest challenges in 2022 was hiring and keeping the right support staff during a time when employment rates were really low in our community. There were days when it was just my business manager and me answering the phones and providing patient services and care. I am pleased to announce that I have an amazing support staff, which includes 4 health coaches all of whom have extensive training or a master’s degree in their specialty as well as health coaching certification. I also have a creative and motivated office manager and an experienced and enthusiastic medical assistant. I believe finding the right team is imperative to a business’s success. As a functional medicine provider, I work with my patients on decreasing stress and having healthy relationships; so it was very important to me to find a team of individuals that wanted to be part of the mission at the clinic, enjoyed working with one another, and enjoyed working with our patient population and I believe I finally have this. There were moments when I felt like it wasn’t going to work because it was so difficult to hire the right staff, but I am most thankful I pushed through the difficult times with hiring.
As you know, we’re big fans of Wasatch Functional Medicine. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I have been practicing functional medicine for almost 4 years. I love being a functional medicine practitioner because I get to spend time with my patients helping them overcome chronic diseases. This requires a deeper level of thought as I dive into each patient’s personal history and the human body to discover the HOW and WHY disease processes occur. Traditionally medical treatments are more effective at restoring health than looking for the root cause. An example of root cause medicine for a diagnosis of anxiety may be chemical exposure, stress, trauma, genetic mutations, nutritional deficiencies, hormones, etc. I spend an hour with each patient reviewing their entire medical history including lifestyle factors, environmental exposures, and how they sleep, eat, move or exercise, and manage stress and relationships. These are all influencers of health and when one is out of balance chronic diseases develop. We have health coaches in our clinic who work with patients in all of these areas as well outside of the exam room. We offer free classes to the community to support every person’s healthcare goals even if they are not a patient of the clinic. We also offer a price point that can be affordable to more people. I believe these are what sets us apart from other clinics.
What’s next?
I am excited about the growth of the clinic and its ability to make a difference in people’s lives. My greatest motivation is seeing people get their lives back again. All of my patients will complete a symptom questionnaire where they rate a multitude of symptoms, for example, a headache from 0 (no headaches) to 4 (having a headache more days than not in the last 2 weeks). Some patients will have a symptom score as high as 180/200 on day one and within a short amount of time, their symptom score is where I hope to see it for all patients less than 10. This is life-changing for people and as long as I can make a positive difference in patients’ lives, I will continue providing medical care in South Ogden, Utah.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.WasatchFunctionalMedicine.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wasatch_functional_medicine/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WasatchFunctional
