About Me

                                      Primary Care 
   I am board certified in Family Medicine, and I see people of all ages, including newborns, toddlers, school-age children, adolescents, young adults, middle-aged adults, and older adults.  I am a primary care practitioner, and in my private office I see mainly families with small children and newborns.  I perform well visits on regular schedule, as well as school forms and other routine visits.  I can get people into "urgent" visits when needed for illness or other acute needs.  I have served as chairman of several Departments at Inova Mount Vernon Hospital, including the Family Medicine Department, Bioethics Committee, and Palliative Care Committee.

                                          Palliative Care
   I am a part time medical director for Capital Caring, doing hospice home visits on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  I am also board certified in Hospice and Palliative Care.  Even near the end of life, much can be done to help with quality of life, and to improve people’s emotional and spiritual health.
                                         
                                 Background and Training
   After completing my undergraduate degree at the University of Virginia, I worked for a year as a counselor for adolescents with severe behavioral and emotional challenges.  I then spent a number of years overseas teaching at international high schools including the Taipei American School, American International School of Lisbon, and the Escuela Americana in El Savador. I also lived in Brazil for three years as a child, and I am fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.  After teaching overseas for 5 years I moved back to the United States in 1995 and began studying under a variety of teachers and practitioners of natural medicine.  I also completed a Masters of Social Work while finishing medical school prerequisites, spending one year in pediatric hematology and oncology and another in Hospice and Palliative Care as a social work intern.  I entered medical school at George Washington University School of Medicine in 1997, and I continued to study with natural medicine practitioners throughout medical school, including special training in pediatrics, holistic nutrition, homeopathy, and mind-body medicine.  I opened my own private practice in 2004, after finishing my residency in family medicine.

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