New family practice to host open house Tuesday

SALUDA — For Saluda’s Dr. Lisa Broyles, caring for the health and well-being of patients requires a deeper understanding than simply asking her clinic’s visitors to “take two of these and call me in the morning.”

As a certified functional medical practitioner, Broyles takes a step back to gaze at the larger picture of a person’s health. Evaluating everything from diet to exercise, the physician seeks to connect the dots to determine the root of what causes one’s ailments and cure that, rather than just treating symptoms. 

“I want to help people live life to the fullest, as pain free as possible — and with as few medications as possible,” Broyles said.

The community is invited to learn more about the doctor’s holistic approach to health care on Tuesday, as Broyles and St. Luke’s Hospital will host an open house at her recently opened practice, Saluda Family Medicine, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. that evening.

In addition to checking out the newly remodeled medical facility — located at 1347 Ozone Drive, Suite 2 — and enjoying refreshments, visitors will have a chance to listen to remarks by Broyles, as well as Saluda Mayor Fred Baisden and Jean Shumway, chair of the St. Luke’s Hospital Board of Trustees. A ribbon cutting for the clinic will take place at 4:45 p.m.

People may RVSP for the ceremony by calling 828-894-0972.

Broyles — a member of St. Luke’s Physician Network — has been seeing patients at Saluda Family Medicine since the facility opened in mid-April. The Columbus-based hospital spent the past several months working with Tryon architect John Walters and Saluda construction firm Don Mintz Builders to transform the suite — which once housed a clinic until its closure in 2014 — into a family practice for Broyles to care for the needs of residents and guests of the mountain city, where the doctor and her family now call home.

“A lot of the patients I’ve seen already are friends and neighbors,” she said. “It’s what I love about Saluda, about working here. I’m privileged to be the community’s doctor.”

Broyles, a native of Asheville, fell in love with Saluda during her visits to the community growing up — she has fond memories of hikes through Bradley Falls and lunches at the Purple Onion, she said. However, she never could have imagined that her career would one day lead her to becoming the small town’s resident physician, she said.

A graduate of the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, Broyles’ career took her to the state of Tennessee, where she completed a three-year residency at the family practice at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. She later served as medical director for the East Tennessee Spine and Nerve Center in Chattanooga and the Johnson City Tennessee Downtown Clinic.

It was while working in Johnson City where she first became interested in holistic medicine, amid her frustrations that traditional medical practices were ineffective at treating patients with autoimmune disorders, she said. Her education into the subject was eye-opening, and prompted her to take a different approach to health care, one where she weighs what her patients tell her they are feeling just as much, if not more, than what numbers indicate from tests, she said.

After working for several years at urgent care centers in South Carolina and Tennessee, Broyles decided to move to Saluda with her husband and two children in order to be closer to family, she said. Shortly after arriving, she noticed that the city lacked a family doctor — a gap she was more than willing to fill, partnering with St. Luke’s to establish a practice inside the closed Saluda clinic facility, she said.

As a family doctor, Broyles sees patients of all ages — from infants to senior citizens — with a particular passion for holistic medicine and women’s health, she said. She sees patients in her office Tuesdays and Thursdays — on days when she is not in, patients can still receive assistance from her staff, who can refill medications or perform tests, Broyles said.

With her list of patients already growing quickly, she is excited to show off the practice to others in her hometown during the open house on Tuesday, she said.

“I’m looking forward to meeting even more members of the community at the event,” Broyles said.

Saluda Family Medicine is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday.