Carrie Phillips, a certified naturopathic doctor, saw her first patient at Blue Spark Health in KP in late December. Shortly after opening, the pandemic hit and calls and visits declined, but Phillips said the practice has grown slowly and steadily through May and June. “It’s been well received,” she said.
“I come from a family of nurses, and I considered a career in pediatrics or teaching, but it just didn’t seem like a good fit,” Phillips said. She discovered natural therapy when she was an undergraduate in college, but didn’t pursue it further at the time. She got married, her family grew, and the topic of her natural remedies kept coming up. “Finally,” she said. “I heard.”
A native of Wisconsin, Phillips moved to the Pacific Northwest with her husband and three young children when she enrolled in the Naturopathic Medicine Department at Bastyr University in Kenmore. They moved to Gig Harbor as she finished her studies. Her husband is a firefighter and EMT who works in Lacey, an easier commute. When Ms. Phillips was ready to establish her own clinic, she was glad to find this building on State Route 302. “I love the energy and environment of the Key Peninsula,” she said. Her three children, now ages 10, 12 and 14, have been joined by a baby brother who is almost 18 months old.
Naturopathic physicians (NDs), like physicians studying conventional medicine and osteopathy, must meet prerequisites to participate in postgraduate training. Many of the courses in medical school are similar to topics such as anatomy, biochemistry, and physical diagnosis, but you will also study homeopathy, acupuncture, and botanical medicine. They spent the past two years gaining clinical experience working with board-certified naturopathic physicians before obtaining their license and starting their own practice. Physicians and doctors of osteopathic medicine traditionally complete additional training for a number of years after medical school, depending on their specialty, but this is not required for NDs.
Phillips hopes to establish Blue Spark as a wellness center with additional practitioners. He currently has a massage therapist as part of his team and is looking to add others. Ms. Phillips does not accept insurance, but can provide a detailed bill for insurance premiums.
Patients must submit their insurance plan for reimbursement. “I didn’t want her insurance coverage to limit my practice,” she says.
She currently sees a wide range of patients, but anticipates that her practice may change over time to become more specific in focus. “Your specialty will find you. I think my strength is that I can heal with my hands and heal energetically,” Phillips said. She treats her patients using an integrative approach that combines therapies such as homeopathy, craniosacral therapy, and botanical medicine. She is also a graduate of Northwest She Healing and Intuitive Arts, which offers training in shamanism, which Ms. Phillips describes as an ancient indigenous healing technique to understand and heal both the physical and emotional selves. It explains that it is used.
Blue Spark Health is located at 11607 State Route 302 NW. Call 252-525-1080 or visit us on the web at bluesparkhealth.com.
