Writer / Ashley Dykton
When it comes to finding a health care provider, people want someone who will listen and take their concerns seriously, someone who will get to the “root” cause of the problem.
At the Root Functional Medicine is “where healing happens” and uses functional and holistic medicine treatments and practices that view the body as a single, whole, connected entity and use detailed information about the patient’s personal histories, lifestyle changes and advanced testing to restore overall balance.
“Many people believe functional medicine/holistic medicine is about using supplements to heal. While we do make supplement recommendations, we believe good nutrition and a healthy lifestyle is the way to improve and optimize health,” says Dr. Meredith Potrzebowski.
At the Root Functional Medicine doesn’t just say they prioritize patient care, they mean it. At the Root Functional Medicine offers thorough examinations to ensure adequate time is spent listening to a patient, learning their symptoms, lifestyle habits and health history to better comprehend and get a cohesive idea of their health concerns and intended goals. At the Root Functional Medicine looks for the root causes of chronic illness rather than just treating symptoms or prescribing medications. They work with patients to strengthen their immune systems, enhance detoxification, and provide treatment services including a gut microbiome restoration program, nutrition coaching, wet/dry fire cupping, acupuncture and osteopathic manipulation to achieve results and resolve the patient’s concerns.
“Patients can expect a thorough history and physical exam during a functional medicine visit. Lab testing may be ordered, basic lifestyle strategies will be discussed to allow us to get to know patients well and understand their health concerns and goals. Initial visits are 60 minutes in length. At follow-up visits, which are 45 minutes in length, we will assess symptom progress, review labs and discuss how plans are working. These visits are tailored to your individual needs and goals. Acupuncture, cupping and manipulation visits typically last about 30 minutes in length, and patients can expect a treatment aimed for their specific concerns. These treatment modalities can help with musculoskeletal pain, migraine headaches, acute injury and many other concerns,” says Dr. Potrzebowski.
When treating their patients, At the Root Functional Medicine providers come up with a plan to optimize health and a goal to establish relationships with patients, where they are “teammates with their patients.” At the Root Functional Medicine wants their patients to feel comfortable in this space and takes pride that they have created an environment where their office does not have that sterile, cold feeling like at other doctor appointments.
“When getting to the root of the problem, we tend to ask when a patient last felt well and try to think of what changes may have contributed to a patient going from well to unwell. This could be an illness, a lifestyle change, a stressor/major life event. I equate it to peeling an onion — we want to pull back layers of inflammation to allow the body to function optimally. We believe that when patients understand why they feel how they do and what is going on with their body, they are better able to incorporate lifestyle changes to improve symptoms and optimize health,” says Dr. Potrzebowski.
The providers behind At the Root Functional Medicine include Dr. Meredith Potrzebowski, an osteopathic physician board certified in both family medicine and functional medicine; nurse practitioner Alison Zolcak, who specializes in gut healing and microbiome balancing and is working toward her board certification in functional medicine; and nutrition coach Kara Hutchinson.
Dr. Potrzebowski initially became interested in functional medicine during her first year of residency when she realized one medication could cause side effects, which would lead to prescribing more medications. This wasn’t helping patients get better; it just increased the number of prescriptions they were taking. With At the Root Functional Medicine, Dr. Potrzebowski provides functional medicine visits, cupping, acupuncture and osteopathic manipulation to patients.
Alison Zolcak is a nurse practitioner with At the Root Functional Medicine who started working with Dr. Potrzebowski in her previous practice in 2018, and there she became interested in functional medicine. Currently, Alison is working toward her board certification in functional medicine and has a special interest in gut healing and microbiome balancing. Alison does functional medicine visits and offers a specialized three-visit, in-depth gut restoration program that works to restore gut health and function.
Kara Hutchinson is a functional nutrition coach who loves to help patients at At the Root Functional Medicine with nutritional goals and efforts, by helping patients learn how to grocery shop, cook, store food and create a manageable food plan.
Want to learn more about At the Root Functional Medicine? Visit their website at attheroot.net, call their office at 765-830-3538 or email info@attheroot.net for more information, including how to schedule an appointment. At the Root Functional Medicine is located at 210 North 10th St., Suite 30, in Noblesville.
