pressnews . com Health & Wellness • Thursday , March 20 , 2025 Page 3
New clinic joins growing movement for direct primary care
By LAUREN FLAUM lauren . flaum @ apgecm . com
In 2019 , longtime health care worker Alicia Bame-Anderson of Monticello was studying to be a family nurse practitioner , and was still figuring out what she wanted to do in the next phase of her career .
“ I knew I always wanted to start my own business , but I didn ’ t know in what capacity ,” she said .
Working as an emergency room nurse , she had noticed a troubling lack of resources for patients in primary care .
“ Many patients didn ’ t have insurance and some didn ’ t have a primary care provider , so they would come to the ER for things that would have normally been addressed in outpatient primary care ,” she said . “ There ’ s also not a lot of primary care practitioners , and patients can ’ t get appointments .”
Looking to address this problem , a growing health care option known as direct primary care ( DPC ) intrigued her , and she began to research this alternative payment model , which cuts out the insurance companies and administrative middlemen . Patients instead pay a regular membership fee directly to the medical provider in exchange for unlimited care .
“ Direct primary care gives you direct access to your primary care provider ,” Bame-Anderson explained . “ You pay a monthly fee to be a member and you get unlimited access to the clinic and your primary care provider .”
Eliminating billing and insurance hassles allows providers to spend more time with patients , a real win-win , as it leads to personalized care and better health outcomes , Bame-Anderson said — yet no one was offering this type of service anywhere near her hometown , where she grew up and is now raising four kids of her own .
“ I thought , ‘ This is it , this is my calling ’— and where better to offer it than where I grew up , here in Monticello ?” she said .
The family nurse practitioner opened her own clinic , Motivity Health , this past September on East Broadway in downtown Monticello , with a focus on affordable , patient-centered , prevention-focused functional medicine and holistic care for people aged 0 to 64 .
Motivity Health boasts 24 / 7 access to Bame-Anderson via phone , text or online portal ;
Alicia Bame-Anderson ’ s new clinic , Motivity Health in Monticello , seeks to do things differently than most medical practices — and that includes ditching the sterile atmosphere .
( PHOTOS BY LAUREN FLAUM )
Family nurse practitioner Alicia Bame-Anderson listens to a young patient ’ s heart in the exam room of her new direct primary care clinic , Motivity Health .
comprehensive medical services ; same-day or next-day visits ; personalized attention , including longer appointments that typically last 30 to 90 minutes ; in-office procedures ; telemedicine , from text messages to video chats and phone calls ; and even walk-in services for the public on Tuesdays and Thursdays .
“ We ’ re different ,” Bame-Anderson said . “ We ’ re very personable . We ’ re part of the community and we understand the frustration with the health care system . And we provide an alternative and direct approach to meeting your health care needs .”
Membership-based model
While patients do not need to become a member to access some of Motivity ’ s services — such as one-time acute care visits for $ 150 , or physicals for $ 250 , plus lab fees — membership certainly comes with a fair share of perks . Following a one-time enrollment fee of $ 100 , membership costs $ 80 per month for adults ; $ 40 for children ; $ 60 for college students ; and $ 300 for families . It includes unlimited visits with direct access to the primary care provider ; a yearly physical with basic lab tests ; discounted lab fees and medication ; laceration repairs , cryotherapy , skin biopsies , strep tests , urine analyses and more . Once someone opts for membership , what can they expect ?
“ I do a lot of education with our initial new patient visit ,” Bame-Anderson said . “ I really get to know all about them . I want to know them on a personal level so that we can take a holistic approach to reach optimal health .”
While patients come to Motivity for all manner of health needs , one popular program is for those looking to shed some pounds .
“ We have a lot of people on our medical weight loss plan ,” said Bame-Anderson , who has a personal interest in nutrition that has led her to take a deep dive into the subject through additional coursework to keep up with her nurse practitioner license .
“ I ’ ve learned a lot about these different specialties : nutrition , functional medicine , gut and brain health , exercise and diet , holistic medicine ,” she said . “ Those are the things I focus on when I do my extra education hours .”
Weight-loss management is just the tip of the iceberg at Motivity , which covers all manner of everyday health needs — from DOT and sports physicals to EKGs , skin procedures and chronic disease management , along with wellness exams and urgent care visits , among other primary care services .
Direct primary benefits One of the biggest incentives
See Motivity , Page 5