Women of 280: Kelly Parker - Heritage Medicine

Kelly Parker, B.S., clinic administrator of Heritage Medicine, was first inspired to open the practice that she shares with her husband, Matthew Parker, MD, while still a student at Samford University. It was during this time she did a thesis on how to drive down the cost of health care. She also served in the Air Force as a medic prior to finishing her degree at Samford. It was while serving in the Air Force in Texas, where she met her husband. 

The two were both passionate about returning to an earlier time in medicine, when doctors took time with patients and treated the whole person. Their mutual interests resulted in Heritage Medicine, which they opened together in Birmingham in 2011. Together with their staff, which includes Emma Richardson, (front office manager), Alisha Ahmed, (patient care technician), Nancy Marie, (patient care liaison) and Regina Bergfeld, (receptionist), they attend to patients’ needs and concerns.

The practice offers traditional medicine, as well as a variety of other forms of treatment that can remedy an illness or concern without exorbitant cost, while treating the root of the problem and not just the symptom. Various methods of treatment can range from Ayurvedic, Chinese medicine and Appalachian, utilizing herbs. 

“We want to treat the whole person and their family,” she said. “We want to be a friend and someone the patient can depend on. We take the time that they need. If they need an hour, we will take an hour with them. Our practice is patient centered, not doctor centered.”