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Greenwood Clinic Puts Emphasis On Functional Medicine
The answers kept being the same — "We don't know."
Megan Bonney had been experiencing a concerning fluctuation of her heart rate and shortness of breath throughout the spring of 2022. She had to go to the emergency room for a heart catheter to see if there was any blockage, and it repeatedly showed heart rhythm changes that appeared to show a lack of blood flow to the heart.
Her husband, Dr. Dee Bonney, didn't know what the issue was. Other doctors didn't know either, until one of Dee Bonney's colleagues, who specializes in a form of treatment called functional medicine, took a look.
By investigating further, they found Megan Bonney was suffering from exposure to mold.
"Conventional medicine wouldn't have figured that out in a million years," Dee Bonney said.
The experience motivated the Bonneys to add a new emphasis to the medical clinic they have operated for the past four years. Functional medicine, a focus on treating the root causes of disease rather than simply controlling the symptoms, is a new option for patients at Alpha Omega Wellness.
The staff of Alpha Omega Wellness celebrates the opening of its new facility in Greenwood.
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The home of Alpha Omega Wellness, which opened its new facility in Greenwood on July 24.
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Dr. Dee Bonney, right, and Megan Bonney, a registered nurse, inside the new home of Alpha Omega Wellness. The Greenwood-based health care center has placed an emphasis on functional medicine for patients, in addition to offering membership-based primary care and addiction services.
RYAN TRARESDAILY JOURNAL
One of the examination rooms inside Alpha Omega Wellness, which opened its new facility in Greenwood on July 24.
RYAN TRARESDAILY JOURNAL
Dr. Dee Bonney, right, and Megan Bonney, a registered nurse, inside the new home of Alpha Omega Wellness.
RYAN TRARESDAILY JOURNAL
A body composition scale inside Alpha Omega Wellness, which opened its new facility in Greenwood on July 24.
RYAN TRARESDAILY JOURNAL
By looking at the broad view of someone's health, they aim to provide hope to people who have struggled with long-lasting conditions without any answers.
"A lot of times, we treat the symptoms, and not the causes," said Megan Bonney, a registered nurse at Alpha Omega Wellness.
The new focus on functional medicine coincides with Alpha Omega Wellness' new home. The Greenwood office, which opened to patients just three weeks ago, will be on display for an open house, scheduled from 11 a.M. To 2 p.M. Saturday. Visitors can take advantage of specials on vitamin infusion, massage and body composition analysis throughout the day.
They can tour the new facility, and learn about all it offers. The center features three exam rooms where patients get treated.
A body composition scale reads body fat and muscle mass for patients, offering a clearer picture of a person's health than a traditional scale. Individual rooms are assigned to massage therapy and IV infusions, with plans to add an infrared sauna.
The wellness center also provides ketamine therapy — the only legal psychedelic therapy available in Indiana, which has shown promise in treating depression in patients.
"We've seen remarkable improvements for people who have experienced depression," Dee Bonney said. "I've not seen anything that moves the needle in the mental health space like it does."
All of the services offered at Alpha Omega Wellness center around the core mission of individualized care for patients. Dee Bonney, who also works as an emergency department physician for Franciscan Health Indianapolis, and Megan Bonney, a registered nurse, opened Alpha Omega Wellness in 2019.
Their initial goal was to address the deepening opioid epidemic in central Indiana. At the wellness center, patients can be prescribed medications to help relieve symptoms of withdrawal and to medically treat the way addiction has changed their brain chemistry. At the same time, Alpha Omega uses Christian counseling and group therapy to heal the spiritual void.
The Bonneys continue to offer addiction services as a core of their mission. But they've expanded, adding direct primary care to the clinic in 2021. The program works as a health care membership plan that provides care for maladies such as broken bones, cuts, illnesses and wellness visits, all for a fixed monthly price.
Patients have responded favorably.
"Our patients enjoy coming and having the family feel and family environment, and joy we still have after all this time," Megan Bonney said.
Functional medicine is an extension of those services. The approach takes a comprehensive approach to prevention, health, and well-being by treating the root causes of disease and restoring healthy function through a personalized patient experience, according to the Institute for Functional Medicine.
A large focus is on the gut and the biome of microorganisms that live in it. Practitioners look at how a patient is eating, sleeping, moving their body and more to determine the cause.
"When someone comes in with a problem, we want to find out why something was hurting — what are they consuming that is making their body angry?" Dee Bonney said. "A lot of times, we mask things so we feel better. Functional medicine tries to go upstream more and figure out what set that off to begin with."
Large health care systems across the United States, including the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio and Henry Ford Health in Michigan, have started implementing it.
But a dearth of functional medicine options on the southside of Indianapolis — plus Megan Bonney's experience in 2022 — inspired the Bonneys to add it.
"Since we started doing the direct patient care membership, we were already moving towards that more functional, integrative space. After (Megan's experience) happened, we were all in," Dee Bonney said.
He went through a training program with the Institute of Functional Medicine, which allowed him to develop advanced skills and competencies in the treatment of patients with complex, chronic disease.
They found the new office space at the corner of State Road 135 and Stones Crossing Road, and renovated it to fit their needs. Patients started coming to the wellness center on July 24.
"It's really invigorated my love for medicine," Dee Bonney said. "We get to help people to be well. Our tagline has become 'Find well' — whatever that is for each person."
AT A GLANCE
Alpha Omega Wellness
What: A membership-based medical practice that offers affordable, convenient, personalized care. An added emphasis has been placed on functional medicine, and the organization offers addiction treatment as well.
Who: Dr. Dee Bonney and Megan Bonney, his wife and a registered nurse.
Where: 1777 W. Stones Crossing Road, Greenwood
Open house: The wellness center will be open to the public from 11 a.M.-2 p.M. Saturday. New clients can sign up for $99 vitamin infusion treatments or $70 massages, with one per new customer to be done within the next month. They can also take an InBody body composition analysis for $10 on-site Saturday.
More information: alphaomegawellness.Com
Two Practices In One: Functional Medicine And Aesthetics Services Open In SoPo
A new practice offering both functional medical services and aesthetics services, called MedMatrix, opened in a 4,500-square-foot leased space at 198 Maine Mall Road in South Portland.
The business was founded by Ann Marie Giedd, Carrie Siefer and Siefer's son, Cole Siefer.
Giedd is a board-certified family practice and past emergency and hospital medicine provider with a history as an educator and specialist in the field of functional medicine.
Carrie Siefer has many years of experience in the medical aesthetic industry, specializing in nonsurgical, noninvasive skincare procedures.
Cole Siefer, age 19, is responsible for conceiving of and marketing the company.
"Functional medicine means treating the root cause of our problems," he said. "Instead of treating the cough, it treats what is causing the cough."
From accident to recoveryBorn and raised North Conway, N.H., Cole Siefer graduated from high school at age 16. A year ago, he and a partner were running a financial education business and podcast called Daily Traders, which he said helped him hone his social media and marketing skills. But he had a serious mountain biking accident, resulting in brain trauma and other injuries. His entrepreneurial pursuits seemed to be in doubt.
Courtesy / MedMatrix
From left, Cole Siefer, Ann Giedd and Carrie Siefer partnered to start MedMatrix at the
Giedd was running a practice called Concierge Care NP, which specializes in functional medicine. She was renting space for one of her offices from Cole's mother. Giedd started Cole on a course of ozone therapy, which he said accelerated his healing process.
"After almost fully healing and returning to the podcast in two weeks, my friends and family were shocked at my speedy recovery," he said.
Giedd started Concierge Care in Atlanta, then moved it to Eaton, N.H., and subsequently added locations in Bangor, Presque Isle and North Conway, N.H. The practice specializes in a one-on-one approach to treating the root cause of illness. She has specialized training in IV nutrition and peptides, hormone therapy, endocrinology, anti-aging, bariatrics and weight loss, and aesthetics. Her clinical background includes level-one trauma centers in Washington D.C., Atlanta, Seattle and Maryland.
In 2021, Giedd began working in side-by-side offices with Carrie Siefer, who founded and runs Advanced Skin Care Center in North Conway, N.H.
Combined practiceCole Siefer said that his speedy recovery, in Giedd's care, led friends and acquaintances to ask him where they could get such treatments. So he approached Giedd about opening a combined practice that would offer her functional medicine services and Carrie's skin care services.
"He asked if I'd be willing to join together to do something bigger, to do more of these therapies and treatments," Giedd said. "I said, 'Okay, let's do it.'"
Courtesy / MedMatrix
Renovations at 198 Maine Mall Road included removing walls, outfitting treatment rooms and redoing the air system and electrical writing.
Cole wrote a business plan. Living in Portland, he initiated a search for real estate to lease.
"I said, 'See what you can find real-estate-wise,'" Giedd said.
Search parameters included high visibility and an easy commute for patients and other practitioners.
"We needed a location where people could see us and know what we're doing," she said. "I knew Portland was a big pull area."
RenovationsCole credited Sasha Phillips with the Boulos Co. For help in the search.
"We probably looked at 10 places," he said.
One hot summer day, Cole and Carrie stopped by a burger joint and were sitting by the window.
"I looked over and saw a 'for lease' sign at 198 Maine Mall Road, next to a Planet Fitness," he said. "People were walking around and it was a nice space. It's a central location. A lot of people go to the mall. And there's great parking."
Courtesy / MedMatrix
MedMatrix now has a dozen practitioners.
The three partners hired Michael Coyne of Archetype Architects in Portland to draw up renovations for the space.
"We needed it to look and flow a certain way," Giedd said. "It had been a salon. So we had to gut a lot of the walls. We needed a certain number of treatment rooms. The air system and electrical writing had to be redone. We had to get water in there, and plenty of bathrooms."
The $480,000 renovation was financed by a $200,000 loan, plus cash and $150,000 worth of supplies from Giedd's business.
12 practitionersMedMatrix includes functional medicine, cellular medicine, stem cell therapy, IV nutrition therapy, anti-aging therapies and aesthetics services.
Giedd continues to run Concierge Care in Bangor and North Conway and, on a scaled-back basis, in Presque Isle. Siefer continues to run Advanced Skincare in North Conway. Both also practice in the South Portland office, which, all together, now employs 12 practitioners. That includes a general manager, two additional office staffers, and five registered nurses and a licensed practical nurse who work with Giedd.
Giedd credited Cole Siefer for his work pulling the partnership together.
"Cole is one of the smartest young men I've met as far as marketing," she said. "He's the face of MedMatrix, whereas Carrie and I are the backbone."
Giedd said the field of functional medicine is gaining currency.
"People say, 'I don't want a pill. I want to know what's wrong,'" she said. "Many people come in who want to know what to do so they don't get sick again. Others want to be proactive. This is where traditional medicine has failed them."
Functional Neurological Disorder
Mark, Victor, MD
Associate ProfessorMedical Director, Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy Research Programs and ClinicDirector, Scholarly Project Program and Geriatric Rehabilitation Lecture Series
Areas of InterestNeurologic Rehabilitation, Stroke, Multiple Sclerosis, Functional Neurological Disorder, Cognitive Disorders, Executive Dysfunction, Aphasia, Unilateral Spatial Neglect, Visual Attention, Cognitive Aging
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