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Susan Alexander, MD
MAHEC Family Health Center at Enka/Candler
25 Westridge Market Place
Candler, NC 28715
(828) 418-0040
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
Mike Coladonato, MD
MAHEC Family Health Center at Cane Creek
1542 Cane Creek Road
Fletcher, NC 28732
(828) 628-8250
I provide full-spectrum family medicine to the local community, strive to teach our resident physicians small practice practicalities and survival skills, and inspire the community to be healthful. My interests inside of medicine include international work, integrative medicine, chronic disease management, low risk obstetrics, office procedures including vasectomy, resident and medical student education, nutrition and exercise as medicine, inpatient medicine, work/life balance, Latino outreach, and advanced care planning for end-of-life discussions.
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.
Josh Gettinger, MD
MAHEC Family Health Center at Biltmore
123 Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
(828) 257-4730
Benjamin Gilmer, MD
MAHEC Family Health Center at Cane Creek
1542 Cane Creek Road
Fletcher, NC 28732
(828) 628-8250
My name is Benjamin Gilmer. Originally a native of rural TN, I moved to North Carolina to attend Davidson College and have now been a Tarheel for 3 decades! I first studied medicine at the Sorbonne in Paris, France and later at East Carolina. Inspired by a fellowship experience in West Africa at the Albert Schweitzer Hospital, I have committed my career to Global Health and have the great fortune to lead MAHEC’s global health program in Honduras. I was a student, resident and Global Health fellow at MAHEC and plan to be a “lifer” here. MAHEC enables me the perfect opportunity to pursue many of my academic passions, including serving a rural community, teaching and practicing full spectrum family medicine. Some of my other passions in medicine include point of care ultrasound, and team-based care. As the clinical director of our Rural Health Initiative and MAHEC’s Rural Fellowship, I am passionate about advocating for rural medicine and finding jobs for all of our residents! More recently, I have embarked on a mission to learn and promote social justice in medicine, focusing on the humane treatment of mental illness in the prison system. I recently published my first book, “The Other Dr. Gilmer” speaking to this injustice. My lovely wife’s name is Deirdre and our two proudest accomplishments are Kai and Luya. Together, we love to travel and explore the wonders of Western North Carolina and the world.
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
MAHEC Family Health Center at Enka/Candler
25 Westridge Market Place
Candler, NC 28715
(828) 418-0040
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.
Marina MacNamara, MD, MPH
MAHEC Family Health Center at Enka/Candler
25 Westridge Market Place
Candler, NC 28715
(828) 418-0040
Susan McDowell, MDFamily Medicine Faculty Physician
Substance Use Educator
MAHEC Family Health Center at Newbridge
218 Elkwood Avenue
Asheville, NC 28804
(828) 257-4747
Susan has been in the WNC region since 2010 and enjoys taking care of patients from age 0 to 100. She currently practices mainly at the MAHEC Newbridge site. Special interests include women's health, chronic disease management, substance use disorder treatment, and care of children.
William McLean, MD
MAHEC Family Health Center at Biltmore
123 Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
(828) 257-4730
MAHEC Family Health Center at Deerfield
1617 Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
(828) 274-1531, ext. 3286
Jessica McSurdy, MD
MAHEC Family Health Center at Biltmore
123 Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
(828) 257-4730
Kerriann Minott, MDFaculty Physician
Community Faculty
Special Interests: Patient education, empowerment, women's health
MAHEC Family Health Center at Biltmore
123 Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
(828) 257-4730
Born in Bronx, NY, to Jamaican immigrants, I have traveled all along the East Coast becoming the woman I am today. I completed my undergraduate studies at Kean University in New Jersey receiving a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology with dreams of becoming a doctor. I traveled farther south to the beautiful island of Cuba where I was fortunate to study medicine, learn a second language (Spanish), and grow as a person. Now that is efficiency. I completed my residency at MAHEC Hendersonville Rural Family Medicine and I am continuing my journey as Community Faculty at MAHEC Asheville Family Medicine. My understanding of being on the other side of the doctor’s table—whether for personal or familial reasons—fuels my passion to continue to provide compassionate care to my patients. My interest includes patient education and empowerment, prenatal care, and women’s health. When I am not doing medicine, I love to sing, dance, and be nerdy with video games, board games, anime, and documentaries about astronomy. Life has humbled me to realize that we are always learning, growing, and changing. I am excited to see where the wind takes me next.
Rathika Nimalendran, MD
MAHEC Family Health Center at Biltmore
123 Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
(828) 257-4730
Ginger Poulton, MD, MSEd, DipABLM
MAHEC Family Health Center at Newbridge
218 Elkwood Avenue
Asheville, NC 28804
(828) 257-4747
Ginger Poulton, MD, MSEd, DipABLM, is board certified in Family Medicine and Lifestyle Medicine. She is a former educator for Teach for America and a graduate of the University of Michigan Medical School. Ginger completed her family medicine residency at the Mountain Area Health Education Center in Asheville and joined MAHEC’s faculty in 2013, and has enjoyed working in a variety of roles at MAHEC since then.
Currently she is the Assistant Program Director for the Transitional Year Residency Program, the lead physician for the Community Health Worker Project at MAHEC and the Family Medicine Clerkship Director for the UNC School of Medicine for the Asheville campus. Additionally, she is the Program Director for the Lifestyle Medicine Residency Curriculum which is offered to all MAHEC residents.
Outside of work Ginger is an active runner, cyclist and sports enthusiast. She loves adventuring outdoors with her husband and sons in the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina.
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.
Lisa Reed, MD
MAHEC Family Health Center at Newbridge
218 Elkwood Avenue
Asheville, NC 28804
(828) 257-4747
Welcome to MAHEC Family Medicine! We want to be your medical home. I am very happy to be practicing at MAHEC Family Health Center at Newbridge in Woodfin. I consider myself very lucky because I love my job. I get so much joy out of taking care of patients, from babies to older patients and everyone in between. I am particularly interested in women’s health, pediatrics, behavioral health and caring for Latino patients. I also provide transgender care services. It is wonderful to work in and out of the hospital to take comprehensive care of patients.
I grew up in Iowa, where I studied at Grinnell College and the University of Iowa. I completed residency here in Asheville with MAHEC Family Practice. I have been lucky to travel some and see healthcare practices around the world. I am happy to call Western North Carolina home. My husband and I love the fabulous local food and I love going on hilly runs with our sweet dog, Maggie.
Stephanie Rosener, MD, FAAFP
MAHEC Family Health Center at Biltmore
123 Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
(828) 257-4730
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
Eric Smith, MD
MAHEC Family Health Center at Enka/Candler
25 Westridge Market Place
Candler, NC 28715
(828) 418-0040
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
Miryam Wilson, MD, MPH
MAHEC Family Health Center at Enka/Candler
25 Westridge Market Place
Candler, NC 28715
(828) 418-0040
Dr. Wilson is a board-certified Family Medicine physician at the MAHEC Family Health Center at Enka/Candler. She attended the University of Connecticut for her undergraduate education, public health degree, and medical school. She finished her family medicine residency here at MAHEC and is currently working to complete a fellowship in maternal and child health through MAHEC.
Dr. Wilson practices full-scope family medicine including primary care throughout the lifespan and for all genders, as well as prenatal care and deliveries at Mission Hospital. She has special interest in reproductive healthcare as well as LGBTQ+ and gender-affirming healthcare. She performs a variety of in-office procedures such as IUDs and contraceptive implants, and offers office-based treatment for substance use disorders including medication-assisted treatment for opioid use. Outside of the clinic, she enjoys gardening and spending time outdoors with her partner Mike, her plott hound Balsam, and her chihuahua Mo.
