Introducing
Functional
Primary Care
Dive Only As Deep As You Need.
How Deep Do You Want to Dive?
Just like swimming at the surface of the ocean allows you to cool off and enjoy the water, traditional primary care addresses immediate symptoms and offers a basic level of health maintenance. It’s accessible and straightforward, but you’re only scratching the surface of what’s possible in terms of understanding and treating your health.
There is a world to discover under the ocean’s surface. And many people do dive deep into the ocean to explore its ecosystems. We all benefit from their discoveries. Scuba diving, however, requires specialized equipment, training, and a substantial time commitment. This is a bit like the deep commitment involved in pursuing a full functional medicine approach to health. It’s amazing. It’s worthwhile. It benefits us all. It’s maybe a bit much for everyone.
But there is a pretty amazing middle ground...
With just a mask and a snorkel, you can explore what’s going on beneath the water’s surface and discover a whole new world that’s richer and more complex than what you can see from the surface. You don’t need specialized training, but having a guide can greatly enhance your experience.
Functional Primary Care is similar: it allows you to explore beyond mere symptoms without requiring a deep commitment of time or resources.
Functional Primary Care is similar: it allows you to explore beyond mere symptoms without requiring a deep commitment of time or resources.
Benefits
Why Opt for Functional Primary Care?
The healthcare journey is deeply personal, often intertwined with our genetics, life stories, and daily habits. Choosing Functional Primary Care is about finding the right balance in your healthcare journey. It caters to those who wish to benefit from the principles of functional medicine without delving into its extensive depth.
The Benefits of Choosing Functional Primary Care
Care With Context
Despite our best efforts, eventually, we all experience normal sickness and infection. We get the flu or a virus. Or, we develop an unexpected rash. When that happens, it's comforting to know that your primary care provider will help address your immediate need while applying functional medicine concepts to your overall health care plan.
Acute & Chronic Health Solutions
Functional Primary Care isn’t just about handling a sudden flu or an unexpected sprain. It’s also equipped to address chronic health issues like diabetes and cholesterol as well as functional disorders like autoimmune illnesses, gut health and hormonal health. While it doesn't dive as deeply into these issues as advanced functional medicine would, it approaches them with a more holistic lens than conventional primary care, ensuring a well-rounded care approach.
Proactive & Preventative Approach
One of the foundational principles of Functional Primary Care, drawn from functional medicine, is its proactive stance. Instead of just addressing symptoms, it seeks to understand the root causes. This means that potential health issues can be identified and addressed before they escalate, leading to better health outcomes in the long run. That has always been the goal of your annual physicals and well-check visits, but Functional Primary Care ensures those visits fit within a framework that truly addresses your whole health. Yes, this is functional medicine. Yes, this is primary care. But is is so much more!
Cost-Effective Care
By addressing root causes and adopting a proactive approach, Functional Primary Care can often prevent expensive treatments and interventions down the line. It’s an investment in health, with potential savings both in terms of money and the physical and emotional toll of advanced medical issues.
Attention to Evolving Medical Research
Functional medicine is the leading edge of some of the best medical research. All of our providers are lifelong learners continually mining the depths of medical and scientific advancements. And because we view functional primary care as a partnership in your health, that often means connecting you with the evolving landscape of literature and research.
Expectations
What to Expect from Your Functional Primary Care Experience
Choosing a new approach to healthcare can be both exciting and daunting. When you opt for Functional Primary Care, you’re choosing a method that combines the familiarity of traditional primary care with the holistic insights of functional medicine. But what does that journey look like? Let’s walk through the Functional Primary Care experience.
Your Initial Visit: More than Just a Check-Up
Your first visit to a Functional Primary Care provider is not your average physical. While the focus will be on your immediate health concerns, the provider will also introduce foundational insights from functional medicine. This ensures a more comprehensive understanding of your health.
A Focus on Your Health Narrative
Every individual has a unique health story shaped by genetics, environment, lifestyle, and past experiences. Functional Primary Care seeks to understand this narrative. While it might not be as exhaustive as full advanced functional medicine, it includes all the foundations of functional medicine. This includes advanced gut testing, nutritional testing, inflammatory testing and so much more.
Our Nurse Practitioner will address:
- Your Family History
- Your Environmental History
- Your Personal Health Journey, and how that relates to your current health (using a holistic, functional medicine framework)
Advanced Diagnostics: A Deeper Dive
Functional Primary Care incorporates some advanced diagnostics, bridging the gap between conventional primary care and full functional medicine. While it might not involve the extensive lab work or deep health history analysis of full functional medicine, it offers much more than the routine tests of traditional care.
Your initial lab testing will include:
- Nutritional Analysis
- Gut-Health
- Hormonal (when necessary)
- Inflammatory Markers
Personalized Interventions
Drawing from the principles of functional medicine, Functional Primary Care offers interventions tailored to your individual needs. This might involve dietary changes, exercise recommendations, or specific therapies. While these interventions are foundational and might not be as extensive as those in full functional medicine, they offer a more holistic approach than conventional primary care.
A Dynamic Approach
One of the strengths of Functional Primary Care is its adaptability. As medical research evolves, so does the care provided, ensuring that patients benefit from the latest insights and advancements.
Building a Health Partnership
Functional Primary Care is not a one-off experience. It's a journey where the practitioner partners with the patient, offering guidance, support, and expertise. It’s about crafting a long-term health strategy, albeit not as intensive as full functional medicine, but more comprehensive than routine care.
Your Provider
Meet Your New
Primary Care Provider
Primary Care is only as good as your actual primary care provider. Fortunately, you’re in good hands with Jodi Caddell, CFNP.
Jodi formally joins Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine in November 2023, but her experience with both Dr. Hartman and Dr. Jenski extends several years. Jodi's journey from a successful career in music and arts management to a dedicated nurse practitioner is a testament to her belief that it's never too late to make a life change.
Jodi’s shift towards healthcare began with motherhood. As she raised her two beautiful daughters, she found herself yearning for a more meaningful career. She wanted to make a tangible difference in people's lives. This desire led her back to school to study nursing, a decision that was further reinforced when a close friend was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. Witnessing her friend's journey from illness to remission through dietary changes sparked Jodi's interest in the healing power of food.
Her interest grew into a passion when her husband was diagnosed with Celiac disease. Once again, she saw the transformative power of lifestyle change, and she knew she wanted to help others experience the same healing. This led her to further her education and become a nurse practitioner, allowing her to build long-term relationships with her patients and guide them towards healthier lifestyles.
While working in family practice, Jodi met Dr. Aaron Hartman and was introduced to the world of integrative and functional medicine. Despite her understanding of diet and health, she realized she wasn’t yet as healthy as she could be. She often felt fatigued and noticed her memory wasn’t as sharp as it used to be. Determined to improve her own health, Jodi first began working with Dr. Christian Jenski. Then, building on that experience, she began her training through the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM).
Now, with her daughters away at college, Jodi continues to learn and grow. She brings her passion for health, her deep understanding of the healing power of food, and her commitment to patient care to RIFM. She’s excited to help her patients discover their own path to wellness and guide them towards living their healthiest lives.
Jodi’s journey is a reminder that it’s never too late to start something new, to grow, and to make a difference. Whether you’re dealing with fatigue, discomfort, or other health issues, Jodi is here to walk alongside you on your path to better health.
Pricing
What’s Your Investment?
Initiation fee of $800 + installments of $120/month for 11 months.
Membership Comparison
Functional Primary Care
Primary Care + Standard Functional Medicine
- Access to Primary & Acute Care:
Schedule with N.P. (24–48 hrs response, weekdays) - Primary Care Provider:
Jodi Caddell, CFNP - Intake: 75 min.
- Follow-Up: 30–45 min. Quarterly
(Plus primary care appointments as needed) - Initial Lab Testing
Lab Testing Billed Separately1 - Advanced Lab Testing
Not included in FPC - Extended patient case based research
- Consultation with other functional specialists
- Referrals
- Intake (One-Time): $1,097
- Monthly: $137
Advanced Functional Medicine
Functional Medicine + Advanced Integrative Therapies
- Access to Primary & Acute Care:
Schedule with N.P. (24–48 hrs response, weekdays) - Functional Medicine Specialist:
Aaron Hartman, MD or Christian Jenski, MD - Intake: 120 min.
- Follow-Up: 30–45 min. Every 8–12 weeks
(Plus primary care appointments as needed) - Initial Lab Testing
Lab Testing Billed Separately1 - Advanced Lab Testing
Lab Testing Billed Separately1 - Extended patient case-based research
- Consultation with other functional specialists
- Referrals (via functional N.P.)
- Intake (One-Time): $2,970
- Monthly: $217
- Lab Testing is billed separately. Please read our FAQ: “Does Insurance Pay for My Labs?” Your membership level includes medical providers who understand which labs to order and how to appropriately analyze the results.