Family Health
MAHEC Family Medicine provides comprehensive, full-spectrum care for all ages, newborn to adults, including Geriatrics. We focus on delivering high quality and thoughtful medical care to patients through a comprehensive approach using evidence-based medicine and decision-making. We strive for a team-based approach and put the patient first. Our comprehensive approach provides care for short and long term (chronic) illnesses, acute issues, and age based preventive care.
Our office is pleased to offer patients a convenient and secure way to virtually check in for upcoming visits.
Depending on whether you join from a computer or a mobile device, you may need to download the FollowMyHealth app.
Monday-Friday: 8am-5pm (in-person and telehealth)
Tuesdays: 5pm-7pm (telehealth only)
24/7 Call Answering Service
Susan Alexander, MD
MAHEC Family Health Center at Biltmore
123 Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
(828) 257-4730
Susan Alexander, MD, is a family physician at the Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC) in Asheville. She is board-certified in Family Medicine and Lifestyle Medicine. She is a clinical assistant professor with the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.
Dr. Alexander practices full-scope family medicine at the MAHEC Family Health Center at Enka/Candler. She provides primary care for newborns, children, and adults, and she provides pregnancy care. Dr. Alexander also provides inpatient care at Mission Hospital, including some obstetrics and deliveries. She also offers a wide array of in-office procedures. Additionally, Dr. Alexander provides office-based opioid medication-assisted treatment services. She speaks Spanish, and interpreter services are available as needed.
Dr. Alexander completed her undergraduate education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, medical school at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, and her family medicine residency at MAHEC in Asheville.
Sandra Clark, MD, MPH
MAHEC Family Health Center at Biltmore
123 Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
(828) 257-4730
Graham Custar, MD
MAHEC Family Health Center at Biltmore
123 Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
(828) 257-4730
Nicole Evans, DO
MAHEC Family Health Center at Biltmore
123 Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
(828) 257-4730
Blake Fagan, MDClinical Director of Substance Use Disorders at MAHEC
Professor of Family Medicine, UNC Chapel Hill
Diplomate of the American Board of Preventative Medicine, Board-Certified in Addiction Medicine
MAHEC Family Health Center at Biltmore
123 Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
(828) 257-4730
Blake Fagan, MD, is family physician at the Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC) in Asheville and a Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He serves as the Clinical Director of Substance Use Disorder Initiatives, and trains healthcare providers and medical residency programs across the state in medication-assisted treatment, safe pain management, and safe opioid prescribing practices. He has also been vetted by the Opioid Response Network as a subject-matter expert in the diagnosis and treatment of stimulant use disorders. Dr. Fagan completed his undergraduate education at the University of Missouri–Columbia, medical school at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and his family medicine residency at MAHEC in Asheville. In 2019, Dr. Fagan served as the clinical consultant for the opioid crisis at the CDC Foundation in North Carolina. As of February 2021, Dr. Fagan is a Diplomate of the American Board of Preventive Medicine, Board-Certified in Addiction Medicine.
Carriedelle Fusco, MSN, FNP-BCNurse Practitioner
Co-director, MAHEC Office-Based Opioid Treatment Services
MAHEC Family Health Center at Biltmore
123 Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
(828) 257-4730
Carriedelle Wilson Fusco, MSN, FNP-BC, holds a master’s degree in nursing from Vanderbilt University and is board certified as a family nurse practitioner. Carriedelle joined the MAHEC Family Medicine Residency program in Asheville in 2012 and works with an interdisciplinary team to care for patients with chronic pain on chronic opioid therapy and patients struggling with opioid addiction and other substance use disorders. She also teaches medical, nursing, and pharmacy students; medical residents; other learners; and community providers in the management of chronic pain and substance use disorders. Carriedelle is the co-medical director for office-based opioid treatment services at MAHEC Family Health Centers.
Josh Gettinger, MD
MAHEC Family Health Center at Biltmore
123 Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
(828) 257-4730
Kontia Grant, MSN, FNP-BC
MAHEC Family Health Center at Biltmore
123 Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
(828) 257-4730
Melissa Hicks, MDFaculty Physician
Transitional Year Residency Program Director
35 years experience in Primary Care and OB
MAHEC Family Health Center at Biltmore
123 Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
(828) 257-4730
Areas of special interest include the full scope of family medical care, including caring for women during pregnancy and childbirth, along with the family.
Steve Hulkower, MD
MAHEC Family Health Center at Biltmore
123 Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
(828) 257-4730
Areas of special interest include sports medicine, care of adolescents and children, prevention and health promotion.
Sylvia Kauffman, MD
MAHEC Family Health Center at Biltmore
123 Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
(828) 257-4730
Lisa LaVallee, MD
MAHEC Family Health Center at Biltmore
123 Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
(828) 257-4730
Areas of special interest include women and children’s health, OB, dermatology and osteoporosis.
William McLean, MD
MAHEC Family Health Center at Biltmore
123 Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
(828) 257-4730
Jessica McSurdy, MD
MAHEC Family Health Center at Biltmore
123 Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
(828) 257-4730
Rathika Nimalendran, MD
MAHEC Family Health Center at Biltmore
123 Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
(828) 257-4730
Rebecca Putnam, MD
MAHEC Family Health Center at Biltmore
123 Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
(828) 257-4730
Hey y'all! I'm from Austin, Texas and went to the University of Colorado where I fell in love with full-spectrum family medicine. I was considering doing a fellowship after I graduated residency, but couldn't decide whether to do hospice/palliative, addiction medicine, or obstetrics. I came to MAHEC because I felt like the scope of care I would experience here would not close any doors for me.
When I was a third year resident here at MAHEC I worked with our local Medicaid payor to develop a pilot clinic focused on primary care consults for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. I was so lucky to get hired on as faculty and have the opportunity to expand these needed services. Since the start of COVID I have also been serving as the medical director of our Acute Care Clinic, which was the first clinic in WNC to have resources to regularly test and treat COVID-19.
I really feel like I get to live my professional dream here at MAHEC, where my colleagues are just as focused as I am on meeting our community's changing needs. When I was an intern we were not regularly prescribing medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder, gender-affirming hormone therapy, or curing hepatitis C, but these are now regular parts of my day-to-day patient care. I also appreciate the opportunity to teach, both residents, UNC medical students, and pre-professional students. I am also on faculty for our Transitional Year residency that started in 2021.
My favorite part of being a family doctor is getting to stick with my patients through all of life's transitions. In addition to IDD care, my special interests include pediatric care, women's health including prenatal care, procedures, addiction medicine, genetic disorders, and working with patients to develop goals of care.
In my free time I enjoy hiking, maintaining my garden, cooking, and most of all spending time with my Asheville-local husband and adorable son.
Stephanie Rosener, MD, IBCLC, FAAFP
MAHEC Family Health Center at Biltmore
123 Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
(828) 257-4730
Stephanie Rosener, MD, IBCLC, FAAFP, joined MAHEC in April 2024 as Chair of Family Medicine. Prior to that appointment, Dr. Rosener served as Program Director for The United Family Medicine Residency Program, a community-based residency program of Allina Health in St. Paul, MN, which emphasized reducing barriers to care and eliminating disparities for under-resourced populations.
Dr. Rosener began her career as a registered nurse, after receiving a dual degree of a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Penn State University. She shared her nursing skills at the University of Pittsburgh’s HIV Treatment Clinical Trials Unit, Presbyterian University, and Magee-Women’s Hospital in Pittsburgh.
The Pennsylvania native continued her education, obtaining her medical degree at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, followed by residency at United Family Medicine Residency in St. Paul. She completed the National Institute for Program Director Development fellowship while serving as Associate Program Director for the Middlesex Health Family Medicine Residency Program in Middletown, CT.
In addition to her current role, Dr. Rosener has held academic appointments at the University of Minnesota Medical School, the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, the Frank H. Netter School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University, Yale School of Medicine, and Boston University School of Medicine.
She is a published author and researcher with a focus on maternal child health, reduction in birth disparities, quality improvement, and innovation in graduate medical education. Dr. Rosener is also a classically trained vocalist and musician (piano, flute, sax, guitar), watercolor artist, outdoors enthusiast, and global traveler.
Amy Russell, MD
MAHEC Family Health Center at Biltmore
123 Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
(828) 257-4730
Matt Simpson, MD, MPH
MAHEC Family Health Center at Biltmore
123 Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
(828) 257-4730
Genevieve Verrastro, MD, FAAP
MAHEC Family Health Center at Biltmore
123 Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
(828) 257-4730
Genevieve Verrastro, MD, is a Family Medicine Physician and an Addiction Medicine Specialist. She completed her residency at MAHEC and worked at several Community Health Centers in Western North Carolina as a primary care physician. In 2020 she returned to MAHEC for the inaugural Addiction Medicine Fellowship and continues there as a faculty physician in the Addiction Medicine program. Her areas of interest include perinatal substance use disorders, care of people with HIV, and the LGBTQ community.
Outside of work, her interests include biking, whitewater kayaking, gardening, and restoring her Craftsman bungalow.
Jan Westphal, MD
MAHEC Family Health Center at Biltmore
123 Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
(828) 257-4730
Suzie Willis, APRN, MSN, FNP
MAHEC Family Health Center at Biltmore
123 Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
(828) 257-4730
