Asheville’s Original Direct Primary Care Practice
Your Health, Your Life…Integrated.
At Integrative Family Medicine, we have an integrative focus that supports long-term wellness by addressing the whole person and teaching our patients the skills they need to take better care of themselves.
Our integrative approach focuses primarily on nutrition, fitness, meaningful stress reduction, and personal growth. Through our personalized health coaching, we guide our patients in making healthy lifestyle choices that encourage optimal health and well-being. We aim to develop plans that meet specific patient values and needs.
We offer our comprehensive direct pay membership for an easy, monthly membership fee plus one-time $80 enrollment fee. This includes savings on additional visits as well as lab and procedure costs.
A Whole Team Approach
Aneela Cox
MD
Aneela completed her Integrative Medicine Fellowship under the direction of Dr. Andrew Weil at the University of Arizona. Aneela provides an integrative approach to full spectrum primary care including pediatrics, women’s health, and men’s health. With a focus on being collaborative with her patients… Read More
Tom Everts
PA
Born outside of Denver, Colorado, Tom grew up on an orange grove in southwest Florida. He graduated from Florida Gulf Coast University with a focus in biology and chemistry and completed his physician assistant studies at Nova Southeastern University. Early in his career while working at a community health center, Tom discovered that using lifestyle medicine tools helped his patients live their best lives… Read More
Elizabeth Frost
PA, Clinic Director
Liz grew up in the suburbs of Denver, Colorado and graduated with honors from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a degree in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology. She found her way to North Carolina in 2007 landing first at Lake James and eventually moving to Asheville… Read More
Chad Krisel
MD
Chad grew up in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, earning an undergraduate degree in environmental science with minors in religious studies and natural resource ethics from the University of Florida. Seeking to combine this education with his passion for serving others… Read More
Brian Lewis
MD MPH
Brian was born in Greensboro, North Carolina and pursued his undergraduate, medical and public health studies at UNC-Chapel Hill. He has over 25 years of experience in Holistic & Integrative Medicine. He is passionate about personalized lifestyle medicine as the foundation of sustainable health care… Read More
Katey Perry
FNP
Katey grew up in Southwest Florida and began her higher education with a BA in art history from Florida State University. While studying in Italy, she developed a broader understanding of humanity’s complexity and determination to contribute to society. She then pursued nursing at Edison State University while working as a CNA… Read More
Jennifer Schirner
PA
Jennifer grew up in Ohio and attended the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill where she earned her bachelor’s degree in environmental studies. She went on to earn her master’s degree in teaching at Western Carolina University. After several years in education she realized her true passion for medicine… Read More
Sarah Schopbach
FNP, Workplace Wellness Clinic Director
Sarah grew up in Palo Alto, CA, and played collegiate soccer while getting her undergraduate degree in Human Development from the University of California, San Diego. She decided to pursue nursing and graduated in 2011 from New York University with a Bachelor of Nursing… Read More
Ariana Figueroa
Health Coach
Ariana Figueroa is an Integrative Health Coach trained by Duke Integrative Medicine. She works to help patients bridge the gap between personal goals, expert medical recommendations, and the ability to incorporate both into their daily lives. She is passionate about the Health Coaching process and the power of its platform to empower people to reach their goals... Read More
Katherine Wilson
MSHN
Katherine Wilson, MSHN and Nutrition Consultant, partners with people in making nutrition and lifestyle changes to achieve optimal wellness. Her focus is transitioning people to a whole food diet and… Read More
Meet Our Staff
Ela Twigg
Practice Administrator
Raised in West Virginia near the Maryland border, Ela attended the University of Maine where she earned a BA in cultural anthropology. With a professional background in the healing arts, social services, customer service, sales, and office management, Ela brings her expertise in and combined passions for promoting individual, community, and environmental healing… Read More
Brandi Oltmann
Front Office Manager
Brandi was born in Pennsylvania but grew up in Chapel Hill, NC, where she attended UNC-G with studies in Biology and English. In 1998 she moved from Chapel Hill to Western North Carolina and finally put down roots in Asheville in 2001. Brandi’s love of biology led her to the medical field, and she has been an integral part of several medical offices in WNC... Read More
Logan Schultz
RN, Clinic Manager
Originally from a small town in Ohio, Logan graduated from the University of Toledo Nursing Program in August of 2020. Upon graduation she stayed in Toledo and accepted a position in an intensive care unit where she cared for COVID-19 positive patients. At the beginning of 2021 she moved to Asheville and worked in a medical-surgical ICU at Mission Hospital… Read More
Melanie Warren
Front Office Coordinator
Melanie is a 6th generation Asheville native, raised in the mountains of Candler. In 2010, after spending 10+ years in customer service, she attended A-B Tech Community College where she obtained an associate’s degree in Medical Office Administration... Read More
Krystle Valencia
Phlebotomist
Krystle was born in Chicago, IL, and raised in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago near Woodfield Mall. She completed her early education there and her Phlebotomy Certification through the NHA in 2009… Read More
Carmen Hipps
Medical Assistant
Carmen, originally from South Carolina, has called the WNC mountains her home since 1998. She brings her experience as a Medical Assistant to the practice, having worked 20+ years in the medical field, including time in Podiatry and Orthopedics…Read More
Meet The Founders
Two traditionally trained MDs who left their practice to create a new, holistic vision of health care.
Chad Krisel, MD & Brian Lewis, MD MPH
Integrative Family Physicians
Drs. Krisel and Lewis both share the ideals of sustainability, holism, service, and personal cultivation. They met through advocacy work in medical school, and later became close friends while completing the Family Medicine residency program in Asheville, NC.
During residency they faced the big question that frustrates primary care doctors: How do we address the needs of the people we serve when conventional medical practice does not provide the time or resources to address the full scope of people’s health concerns? In asking themselves how they could practice medicine differently they wanted to create a model clinic that would demonstrate a simple, transparent, and integrative approach to health care. They selected the best, evidence-based elements from conventional Western medicine and combined them with complimentary / traditional healing arts.