OB/GYN: Project CARA

Tammy Cody, MSW, LCSW, has been a social worker focusing on the mother-baby dyad for over 25 years. She is the Western North Carolina regional lead for plan of safe care and integration of multi-disciplinary teams that work with substance-affected families (both inpatient and outpatient). A graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, she has spent 20 years in a neonatal intensive care unit providing complex care management and crisis intervention services to the families of Western North Carolina.

Her current role is the Director of Navigation within the Integrated Care Team of Project CARA, which provides comprehensive substance use treatment within a high-risk obstetrical care program at MAHEC. This work will cross multiple counties and systems. Tammy is dedicated to patient-centered healthcare systems.

Anna Gerhardt, RN, MSW, is Project CARA’s lead nurse. She has worked in women’s health in a variety of capacities for over 10 years providing support for pregnant and laboring moms and postpartum families. Anna has a master’s degree in social work and understands the impact of trauma on addiction, parenting, and overall health. She is passionate about helping women achieve their goals for self-care, healthy relationships, and being an awesome parent. A parent herself, Anna knows it is a tough job with plenty of opportunities to make (and learn from) mistakes, but it is the best job she’s ever had.

Stephanie Stone, CMA, has been with MAHEC Ob/Gyn Specialists for several years and decided to become a Centering Pregnancy facilitator because it sounded like so much fun. While she doesn’t have any children, being a Centering facilitator has given her a wonderful sense of family. She is grateful for all of the warm connections she has made in her Centering groups. Stephanie loves watching people become parents and couples become families.

Olivia Caron, PharmD, CPP, is a clinical pharmacist at MAHEC who works with chronic disease management including substance use, hepatitis C, diabetes, and more. She strives to provide comprehensive and compassionate care to all her patients and loves working with the Spanish-speaking community as she speaks Spanish and French. She also serves as Project CARA’s Director of Research.

Olivia was born and raised in Northern Virginia as the youngest of four kids born to Belgian parents. She studied chemical engineering and Spanish at Virginia Tech and then attended Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy where she graduated with her Certificate of Aging and Doctorate of Pharmacy.

Judi Layton has provided full-scope Midwifery and Ob/Gyn care to women in Western North Carolina for the past nine years. During this time, she has educated and assisted patients with substance use access mental health and addiction treatment in rural counties. She is excited to join the MAHEC team and will be providing full-scope care to women in Project Cara and in the Ob/Gyn clinic. Judi received her MSN in Midwifery from the University of Pennsylvania in 2001. She is currently pursuing a Post Graduate Certificate in Psych Mental Health Nursing and plans to specialize in Perinatal Substance Use Disorders and Postpartum psychiatric issues. She is a proud mother of two teenage boys and loves spending time with her family.

Dr. Marietta joined MAHEC Ob/Gyn Specialists in January 2023 after working for seven years as a rural family medicine physician in Polk County, NC. She completed her Family Medicine Residency in 2012 at Santa Rosa Family Medicine Residency, and she was board certified in Addiction Medicine in January 2022. She is passionate about caring for pregnant and parenting people with substance use disorders and working to bring these services to more people in rural communities. She also has specific interests in comprehensive reproductive health access, providing gender-affirming care, and teaching medical students and resident physicians. Outside of work, she enjoys yoga, hiking, swimming, visiting local fairs and farmers’ markets, and exploring all the beautiful nooks and crannies of Western North Carolina with her family.

Susan McDowell, MD, is a family physician who has practiced medicine in Western North Carolina since 2010. She spent most of these years in Madison County, and joined MAHEC and Project CARA in 2019. She currently divides her time between caring for families at MAHEC’s Newbridge Family Health Center and providing substance use education, training, and integrated treatment at MAHEC’s Biltmore campus. Susan sees patients one day a week at Project Cara where she focuses on postpartum care including hepatitis C treatment and smoking cessation. As a family physician, Susan loves working with all ages and helping patients achieve their health goals. As a mother of young children, she also loves taking care of women during the postpartum period.

Nathan Mullins, MD, is a board-certified Ob/Gyn and addictionologist with expertise in substance use disorders in pregnancy. Dr. Mullins provides comprehensive Ob/Gyn and substance use treatment services for Project CARA patients. He also serves as the medical director for a community-based opioid treatment program and understands how different medications can stabilize and support women with opioid use disorders. In addition to patient care, Dr. Mullins is a faculty educator and directs MAHEC’s Addiction Medicine Fellowship where he trains physicians in the treatment of opioid and other substance use disorders. He is also a parent who understands the daily challenges that can make recovery more difficult and more rewarding.

Genevieve Verrastro, MD, FAAP, 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 remained 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.

Hillary Anderson, LCSW, LCAS, is Project CARA’s lead behavioral health clinician and has specialized in perinatal substance use disorders since 2010. Hillary understands how trauma, mental health, and personal empowerment influence addiction. Hillary helps Project CARA patients better understand the disease of addiction, develop relapse prevention skills, and heal from trauma using a variety of approaches including cognitive behavioral strategies, acceptance and mindfulness skills, trauma resiliency techniques, and EMDR. When she is not seeing patients, she enjoys spending time with loved ones, baking, practicing yoga and meditation, hiking, camping, and other outdoor activities.

Caitlin Hettich, MSW, MFA, LCSW-A, LCAS-A, is a mental health and substance use counselor with Project CARA, focusing on the care of women during and after pregnancy. Originally from Miami and trained as a sculptor, she taught art and art history to children and young adults for many years. Caitlin’s interest in women’s mental health arose during the years surrounding the birth of her own children, and her experience as a mother deeply informs her approach with clients. While she considers the cultivation of relationship central to healing, she enjoys sharing a range of tools, techniques, and strategies to help her clients develop resilience, and to safely navigate difficult experiences.

Rebekah Bass was the Davidson Impact Fellow for 2021-2022. She graduated in 2021 from Davidson College with a major in anthropology and minor in French and francophone studies. At Project CARA, her role includes operational support and research assistance. She came to this fellowship with an interest in rural public health and is has been able to refine that interest within in the perinatal substance use space through support of Project CARA's growing Hub and Spoke network.