Violet Skies Family Health

A Direct Primary Care Practice

Family and Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine

Location:

9028 N Rodgers Court SE, Suite E2

Caledonia, MI 49316

Call to Schedule: 616-275-1174

After Hours Care Call: 616-228-1273

Email Us

Schedule a TeleHealth Visit

We are still open for healthcare needs! However, due to Covid-19 we are trying to move toward TeleHealth to keep patients safe and healthy at home.

Click the link above to schedule a Telehealth visit.

In office appointments are available for those that need urgent care.

Please call ahead for an appointment!

Caledonia Office Hours:

Monday-Friday 9 am to 5 pm

Early Morning, Evening, Weekend, Urgent Care & Home Visits

Available Upon Request

Kalamazoo Office Hours:

Home Visits or Virtual Visits Only Until Shelter in Place Order is Removed

Covid 19 Testing Available for Patients in Office

Call for an Appointment

Accepting New Patients Now!

Meet Carrie Sandborn DO

Osteopathic Family Medicine Physician

I am a Family Medicine Osteopathic physician that practices Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine and provides Medical Weight Loss Services. Family Medicine physicians can see patients from birth to 100. I have been a family physician for 13 years.

I attended my undergraduate studies at Michigan State University. I graduated from Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine (MSU COM). I completed my Family Medicine Residency with MSU COM at Mercy Health Partners in Muskegon, MI.

I am a Board Certified Physician in Family Medicine and Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine.I believe in the Mind-Body Connection in relation to ones personal health and wellness. I strive to practice holistic medicine and provide holistic healthcare.

My professional interests include Medical Weight Management, OMM- particularly Cranial Sacral Therapy, Women and Children's Health, Non-Opioid Pain Relief, and Physician/Resident/Student mental well being.

Why Direct Primary Care?

Direct Primary Care (DPC) is an innovative alternative payment model that improves access to healthcare with a simple, flat, affordable membership fee. No fee-for-service payments. No third party billing (Insurance companies). The defining element of DPC is an enduring and trusting relationship between a patient and his or her primary care provider.

Service:

The hallmark of DPC is adequate time spent between patient and physician, creating an enduring doctor-patient relationship. Supported by extended access to care, DPC enables unhurried interactions and frequent discussions to assess lifestyle choices and treatment decisions aimed at long-term health and well-being. DPC practices have extended access to care and patient panel sizes small enough to support this commitment to service.

Patient Choice:

Patients in DPC choose their own personal physician and are active partners in their healthcare. DPC patients have the right to transparent pricing, access, and availability of all services provided.

Elimination of Fee-For-Service:

DPC eliminates undesired fee-for-service(FFS) incentives in primary care. These incentives distort healthcare decision-making by rewarding volume over value. This undermines the trust that supports the patient-provider relationship and rewards expensive and inappropriate testing, referrals, and treatment. DPC replaces FFS with a simple flat monthly fee that covers comprehensive primary care services. Fees must be adequate to allow for appropriately sized patient panels to support this level of care.

Advocacy:

DPC providers are committed advocates for patients within the healthcare system. They have time to make informed, appropriate referrals and support patient needs when they are outside of primary care. DPC providers accept the responsibility to be available to patients serving as patient guides.

Stewardship:

DPC providers believe that healthcare must provide more value to the patient and the system. Healthcare can, and must, be higher-performing, more patient-responsive, less invasive, and less expensive than it is today. The ultimate goal is health and well-being, not simply the treatment of disease.

Information from

Benefits of a DPC Practice

Extended Appointments

Choosing a DPC allows you to have more time with your physician: We offer 60 or 90 minute appointments

Extended Access to Care

Receive care when you need it in a DPC practice! If you need weekend or after hours care, we will meet you at the office. An included benefit of belonging to a DPC practice means extended access to your doctor. A DPC can do phone calls, Email, Tele-medicine or meet you in the office.

Same or Next Day Care

Seeing your doctor is easy. There are no long waits to be come a patient or to be seen when you are sick. Generally, you can be seen the same or next day

Low Cost Medications, Labs and Imaging

A DPC practice negotiates with local labs, radiology, and provides pharmaceuticals to provide the lowest cost for patients. Receive the low cost, quality care you deserve.

Urgent Care

Have an urgent need? Don't go to the ER for a UTI or sutures. Call the after hours line... I can meet you in the office nights or weekends.

Membership Based Care

Patients pay no copays, deductibles, or hidden fees in a DPC. They pay a flat, low cost monthly fee which includes time to build a relationship with their physician, extended hours, access to after hours care, home visits, urgent care and more....

The Story of Violet Skies

I have been working in Kalamazoo, MI for the last 7 years. Last year, a colleague of mine and I decided to open our own DPC practice. The practice was successful due to the philosophy that we had in caring for our patients. We took all the time a patient needed to care for our patients and their health. This led to spinning off the practice into my own new location. I wanted to return back to my hometown to be closer to my family. The decision to start a DPC practice was our reaction to the disappointment we have with the current health care system. I was getting burned out from being mandated to see 20+ patients in a day, which is 'normal' in the current hospital owned practice model of care. I was discouraged because I felt that I never had enough time to build the physician-patient relationship properly. In the traditional hospital owned practice, I actually talked to my patients and constantly ran behind or I stayed "on time" and gave what I felt was unsatisfying care for the patients and myself. I wanted better for physicians and patients.

I named this practice Violet Skies Family Health after my daughter and my grandmother. My daughter Violet was named after my grandmother, and her great-grandmother, Violet. This past year, my grandmother passed away at the age of 92. It was her death and my mother's subsequent hospitalization in the ICU that led to my leaving "traditional" medicine and the broken healthcare system. My daughter was so proud when I helped open our first DPC in Kalamazoo. She is even more excited for my new DPC adventure closer to home. I knew I wanted to honor my grandmother and daughter by incorporating Violet into the name of our practice. I just didn't know how. Until one night my husband and I were walking in our neighborhood as the sun was setting. This produced a beautiful Violet Sky. Corey said the name, Violet Skies, and we knew it was the right name for us. A family name.

Violet Skies Family Health was created to foster the physician-patient relationship. I will give myself and my patients all the time necessary to provide the best healthcare possible during their office visits. I look forward to growing relationships with my patients and their families in our new family practice.