Fermata Direct Primary Care

11/04/2025

Exercise is essential to well-being, whether it be your physical body, or your constitutional rights 😁 Hope you all got to vote today! ✌️🇺🇸

11/01/2025

Today marks the first National DPC day! Proud to be part of this movement, and to call these women my colleagues and friends. Last night we gathered to celebrate this model where we found each other and renewed our commitment to our own vocations as family doctors. Direct primary care gives patients access to high quality care from physicians who are able to give them the time and attention they deserve. Spread the word folks…we all deserve better, and DPC is the future of primary care ✌️❤️

From left to right:
Dr. Arlene McCain of McCain Whole Health Care, PLC
Dr. Jason Asistores or Fermata DPC
Dr. Wyrick of Orchid Family Medicine

09/12/2025

Last Night, I Spoke with the Government

About a week ago, a few of my fellow DPC physicians and I were made aware of the government’s initiative to fund programs addressing healthcare delivery problems in rural America, aptly called Rural Health Transformation Program. In line with this, our state’s Secretary of Health and Human Services is conducting several listening sessions throughout the state of VA for the month of September. Last night, the 3 of us attended one of these sessions right here in Harrisonburg. We took the opportunity to be heard alongside local healthcare system executives, organization heads, and community leaders. Three of us -- boots-on-the-ground primary care physicians taking care of families and individuals in the community, were heard. Three of us (dare I say it) friends, accompanied each other to represent not only Direct Primary Care as a movement, but also represent physicians as important stakeholders in our healthcare system. This is us shortly after that meeting for a quick debrief at Bella Luna Woodfired Pizza.

America’s healthcare system is ill, and it will take the efforts of not just our leaders, but of each member of our system at every level, to help it get better. Countries with the best health outcomes worldwide are those who’ve adequately invested in addressing social determinants of health (i.e. education, employment, housing, access to transportation and communication amenities, etc.), and in propping up a robust primary care system with adequately trained physicians. These were common themes in last night’s conversation, and we as DPC physicians are doing our part to provide high quality healthcare to our patients in the Shenandoah Valley. I am proud to be part of this movement.

From Left to Right: Dr. Kim Wyrick of Orchid Family Medicine, myself, and Dr. Arlene McCain of McCain Whole Health Care

11/08/2024

Just got recertified in BLS together with the team at McCain Whole Health Care, PLC. Here’s me and Lucy (their most energetic team member!) staring at the baby manequin. This picture’s practically begging for thought bubbles or a caption at the very least, so feel free to drop one in the comments. Happy Friday!!!

06/28/2023

Today is the feast of St. Irenaeus who once said that "the glory of God is man fully alive." This truth inevitably found its way in our most recent conversation with Dr. Trent Mazer, as we talked about in residency, and how physicians are able to do much more with their gifts when proper support is given in the workplace environment. Check out the latest episode of Physicians Heal ✌️❤️

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2imAaPxHrzsD4xp0QMKEKD?si=-cVwjGK8S46h5_rVpDf-wQ

Listen to this episode from Physicians, Heal on Spotify. Dr. Asistores and Dr. McCain speak with Dr. Trent Mazer about burnout in residency, healthy boundaries, and the importance of relationship. Dr. Mazer is a family physician with Sentara Timber Way Health Center. He shares insights into the team...

06/02/2023

Dr. McCain leads our third episode this season with insights on the contemplative dimension of medical practice. Ideal for weekend listening while sipping your favorite hot beverage in the morning 🙏❤️

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2Zxc0saNIYvGVKbv9yALaA?si=a8dbdac30f3e495d

Listen to this episode from Physicians, Heal on Spotify. Dr. Asistores and Dr. McCain reflect upon conversations with Dr. Wenger and Dr. Domingus, and consider their individual stories within the larger communal story of physician burnout and healing. They explore the meanings of "contemplation" and...

05/09/2023

Three groups of people have taught me the practice of medicine:

1. Patients
2. Doctors
3. NURSES

Happy nurses’ week to all you awesome nurses out there! Thank you for all you do!😊✌️❤️

05/01/2023

Dr. Jeff Domingus shares his own experience with and along with deep insights on our vocation as healers, in this episode of . One of our most inspiring episodes yet 🙏

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1eKOtmyjWlCU0sY3uxNdVg?si=f8e66a6002d1468f

Listen to this episode from Physicians, Heal on Spotify. Dr. Asistores and Dr. McCain talk with Dr. Jeff Domingus about burnout, healing, and finding meaning in medicine. Dr. Domingus is a family physician with Healthy Community Health Centers (HCHC). He shares how burnout is related to autonomy, ma...

04/16/2023

PSA: nose rings and rough pets are a potential hazard and not a good mix!!! I had to stitch up an unfortunate accident caused by a beloved animal 🙁 (I decided against posting a picture of the wound...but y'all can use your imagination). If you can't avoid having furry friends, you may want to reconsider facial piercing choices (perhaps a stud vs a ring?).

Anyway, they're better now and happily got the care they needed at the office IMMEDIATELY 🙂 Wishing everybody a safe and happy week! ✌️❤️

04/03/2023

Season 2! Where we invite other voices to (finally) join our own!

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7EXEgHdlQ9D4kQwCGIFOof?si=c1f58a2deabe4ff8

Listen to this episode from Physicians, Heal on Spotify. Welcome to Season 2, Episode 1 of Physicians, Heal! This season, Dr. Asistores and Dr. McCain invite physicians to sit and dialogue with them about physician burnout and healing; or, as Dr. McCain calls it, "bringing in a third other." As we b...

03/30/2023

Happy National Doctor's Day to all my colleagues in this noble profession, where we bravely set out everyday to battle the formidable threats of Google search results 😂

Seriously though, kudos to all the doctors out there still trying to make a positive difference in the lives of our patients. We may not change the world, but our care may mean a world of change to that one patient in our office. ✌️❤️

02/14/2023

Before the new year came in, one of my patients started experiencing symptoms concerning for heart disease. One visit led to a number of tests and specialist consults, and to cut the long story short, he now has 2 stents and a new valve at over 80 yo. I saw him for a follow up today together with his wife. He’s back to walking around the neighborhood, and though he certainly feels better, he admits to feeling traumatized by the whole experience of being in a hospital, which in his case had some notable complications along the way. He’s now wearing a cardiac monitor for a couple of weeks, and we’re both praying for the worst of it to be done by now. At the end of the visit, they gave me a rose as a small token of gratitude for simply being present with them and praying with them throughout their journey the past couple of months. Needless to say, I’m not the cardiologist who put in his stents and his new valve, and they were so effusively thankful for him as well. All I did was listen and pointed them in the right direction. “For his new heart,” his wife said. And then mine just started melting, 😂 Happy hearts day everyone!!!