Meet Our Staff

Dr. Baker specializes in the psychiatric assessment and treatment of children and adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities.  He has been the Medical Director of the MAHEC IDD Behavioral Health Clinic since January, 2015.  He is also Medical Director for NC START West, a consultative agency which serves IDD patients in WNC.  He graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill School of Medicine in 1987 and completed residencies in general and child/adolescent psychiatry at the University of Colorado in 1993.  Dr. Baker received board certification in both Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in 1994.  Since moving to Asheville in 1994, he has primarily practiced in community mental health. For the past 10 years, his clinical focus has been increasingly on individuals with IDD and psychiatric disorders.

Dr. Buie is program director of the Psychiatry Residency  and chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Wellness.  He treats adults with all psychiatric conditions with particular interests in bipolar disorder, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, depression, and anxiety disorders.  He is trained in transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), a treatment for severe depression.  Dr. Buie attended the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill as an undergraduate on a Morehead Scholarship.  He obtained his medical education at the University of the North Carolina School of Medicine.  He completed a residency in internal medicine at a Columbia University training hospital in New York and a psychiatry residency at Cornell Medical College, also in New York.  Dr. Buie is an adjunct associate professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.  He is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and was named a Distinguished Alumnus of the UNC School of Medicine.  He is a past president of the North Carolina Psychiatric Association, is president of the North Carolina Psychiatric Foundation, and is a member of the American College of Psychiatrists. 

Jarod Coffey is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a Behavioral Health Provider.  Jarod earned his BS in Psychology and Master of Social Work Degrees at the University of Iowa.  Just before coming to work at MAHEC, Jarod worked for ten years at Mission Children’s Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina.  Prior to Mission, Jarod worked at the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Center of Western North Carolina where he developed his skills in CBT interventions.   Jarod has worked collaboratively on integrated care initiatives with other professionals in specialty medical departments including internal medicine, oncology, general pediatrics, gastroenterology, neurology, pulmonology, endocrinology, and developmental pediatrics, among others. Over the past few years, in addition to working with patients and their families, Jarod has been the lead trainer in a project that provided behavioral health providers in rural clinics with integration training to promote and offer more of the services remotely that are provided at Mission’s regional developmental pediatrics clinic. Jarod is an energetic and empathetic therapist who loves to see kids and adults benefit from evidence-based treatment approaches that promote overall success in day-to-day life.  Jarod enjoys working with all ages of patients, but has a particular affinity for working with children, adolescents, and their families.  Jarod has particular interest in treating people with Tics, Anxiety, ADHD, Autism, Sleep Issues, and working with families on effective parenting using Conscious Discipline and other strategies.  When he is not at work, Jarod enjoys spending time with his family and riding his mountain bike in the woods.

Dr. Laura Hodges is a general adult psychiatrist. She attended medical school at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and completed her residency training at Brown University. Following completion of her training, she worked for several years in community psychiatry, where she worked with people with severe and persistent mental illness and enjoyed helping her patients recover to lead full and meaningful lives. She has a special interest in medical education, and is thrilled to join the MAHEC faculty, where she looks forward to working with trainees. She enjoys practicing a full range of general adult psychiatry. 

Dr. Dominique Huneycutt is a licensed psychologist who directs outpatient psychotherapy services in the Dept. of Psychiatry.  In addition to providing clinical services, Dr. Huneycutt is actively involved in healthcare education, including teaching and supervising residents and students and developing programs to support mental wellness. Her areas of clinical expertise include working with children, adolescents, and families; trauma/ACES; anxiety and mood difficulties; stress management; and complex cases. She maintains a private practice and is active in several professional organizations. Dr. Huneycutt is honored to be a winner of the Western NC Psychology Association’s William Bruce Award. Originally from Virginia, Dr. Huneycutt earned her undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College.  She attended graduate school in Philadelphia in the unique joint program for law and clinical psychology, earning her M.A. from Hahnemann University; her law degree from Villanova University School of Law; and her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Drexel University. Dr. Huneycutt enjoys the outdoors; exploring national parks; experiencing WNC’s arts and music; and spending time with family, friends, and her golden retriever.

I’ve been a LCSW since 2008 after receiving my Master of Social work Degree from Virginia Commonwealth University.  I’ve worked in a variety of social work and clinical settings including residential social work in low-income housing, community mental health, and medical social work.  I enjoy working primarily with the adult through geriatric populations, as well as  high-risk underserved populations. As a social worker, I value advocating and coordinating care with a systems based approach to mental health.  I like working with individuals with complex trauma, borderline personality disorder, and mood disorders.  I’m trained in CBT for chronic pain, so I also enjoy working with individuals with chronic pain and opioid use dependency.  I’m a certified Resources for Resiliency educator, and I’m passionate about how this population health model can improve mental health in our communities.  I have an eclectic approach to therapy based on my training in DBT, CBT, ACT, and somatic processing therapies.    

Dr. Ladd is a native of Western North Carolina (WNC) who completed his education throughout this region. He majored in Environmental Studies and Philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. Then he attended medical school at the Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine due to its focus on serving rural Appalachia. In wishing to stay close to the community he wanted to serve, he completed his general psychiatry residency and child and adolescent fellowship at Wake Forest Baptist Health where he served as a Chief Fellow. Clinically he focuses on adult and pediatric outpatient psychiatry at multiple locations in WNC. He heads the program’s LatinX concentration that has expanded mental health services at a pediatric office rooted in the nation’s oldest migrant health center,  partners with Vecinos farmworker health program through volunteer psychiatric consultation, and provides the mental health component of MAHEC’s medical trips to Honduras. He is excited about helping to meet the mental health needs of the underserved children and families across WNC by training the next generation of compassionate providers who will be equipped to serve community members throughout their life span.

 

Eduardo Fabian Moreno is a Bilingual Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC) who enjoys working with both English and Spanish speaking children, families, and adults dealing anxiety, depression, trauma- and stress-related disorders. He also enjoys working with those who are neurodiverse (ADHD, Autism, and Down syndrome), as well as those in the LGBTQ+ community. He utilizes an integrated approach towards counseling that focuses on client-centered engagement, psychoeducation, solution-focused and motivational interviewing, along with CBT and EMDR. Eduardo Fabian also uses nature as a metaphor along with creative and expressive arts within his work. Eduardo Fabian is bicultural, a first generation Mexican-American on one side, and a Western North Carolinian on his other side. Being from the Brevard and Hendersonville area, he attended Brevard College for his undergraduate degree, getting a B.A. in Psychology. Later, he attended Western Carolina University’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program in which he acquired his M.S. degree and has since engaged in community mental health services. He values the unique journeys we humans go through in this life, seeking to honor the humanness we all have and our efforts towards wellness – collectively and individually.

Dr. Patil is the Medical Director of Addiction Services at the MAHEC Center for Psychiatry and Mental Wellness. He completed his undergraduate education at Vanderbilt University and earned his medical degree at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine. He completed his general psychiatry residency training at Boston Medical Center/Boston University School of Medicine, where he also completed a fellowship in addiction psychiatry. Following completion of his training, Dr. Patil worked as the Director of the Division of Addiction Psychiatry at Tufts Medical Center in Boston for several years prior to relocating to Asheville and joining MAHEC. Outside of work, he enjoys hiking, backpacking, meditation, and spending time with his family and dog.

Lucie is a therapist in the Center for Psychiatry and Mental Wellness. She enjoys working with children, adolescents, and adults managing all kinds of challenges, from stress, anxiety, or psychosis to trouble concentrating or controlling impulses. She has worked in the field since 2009 and has extensive experience supporting parents and their children with severe behavioral problems, as well as individuals/families involved in legal or child protective services systems. Lucie received her undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia, a Master of Science in Social Work from Columbia University, and a Master of Public Education Policy from Vanderbilt University. She is passionate about providing evidence-based services and remedying any barriers to people accessing services.

Dr. Sarah Wells Slechta, M.D. is a psychiatrist who enjoys working with children, adolescents, and young adults. Primarily, she provides psychiatric medication management. Additionally, she believes it is important to focus on healthy lifestyle habits and other ways to maximize one’s mental health as part of treatment. Dr. Wells sees patients at Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC), but also works in a variety of other settings.  She is a consulting psychiatrist at Asheville Academy for Girls, a therapeutic boarding school for girls ages 10-15. Also, Dr. Wells is the current President of The Pisgah Institute for Psychotherapy and Education.  Her passion is teaching residents and medical students.  She serves as the associate program director for the MAHEC Psychiatry Residency program. Dr. Wells is also the site director of the psychiatry block for the University of North Carolina School of Medicine’s Asheville campus. Dr. Wells is active in the North Carolina Psychiatric Association, and serves on the executive council. She recently became a Distinguished Fellow of The American Psychiatric Association. She completed her training at University of North Carolina Hospitals. She is board certified in adult psychiatry as well as child and adolescent psychiatry. Dr. Wells grew up in western North Carolina, and has a deep love of nature and the mountains.  In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with family, hiking, backpacking, yoga, and travel.