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By Bellamy Crawford<\/p>\n
Imagine a health center where a team of medical providers work together to address every aspect of a patient\u2019s wellbeing, and where the only dirty word in the office is \u201cBMI.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Fosnight Center for Sexual Health was founded by Brevard native Aleece Fosnight in 2018 with a vision to provide an integrative approach to treating and managing sexual health. \u201cI was at a cancer conference when I realized the collaborative care model used for a lot of cancer patients wasn\u2019t being done in the world of sexual health,\u201d says Fosnight. \u201cThe hospital system here in Asheville was not willing to work with this idea, so I decided I would do it myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Fosnight Center staff members, trauma-informed and LGBTQIA+\u2013educated, pride themselves in making everyone feel welcome and safe. \u201cTrust is vital for engaging with people on a deep level to address the root causes of their problems,\u201d says Doug Yozwiak, the center\u2019s integrative medicine provider. Before joining the Fosnight team, Yozwiak worked with critically ill patients at a Level 1 trauma center, which he says operated in \u201cstark contrast to the Fosnight Center\u2019s holistic approach.\u201d Yozwiak believes in slowing down and spending time with people in order to understand the causes of illness.<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t believe the way I was treated at the Fosnight Center,\u201d says Ellie Smith, a patient seeking treatment for hormone-related migraines. \u201cI\u2019d never had a doctor ask permission before making physical contact with me or explain that my body weight didn\u2019t need to be a health concern. I left feeling happier and healthier than I had in a long time because I had been empowered to love my body.\u201d<\/p>\n
The team at the Fosnight Center believes in being proactive with challenges and stopping them before they become long-term problems. \u201cI adhere to the recommendations from the US Preventive Services Task Force for disease prevention and use evidence-based medicine alongside alternative and supplemental therapies,\u201d says Yozwiak.<\/p>\n
The center\u2019s licensed medical providers, mental health therapists and physical therapists provide an in-depth biopsychosocial approach to treat a variety of concerns, including anxiety, depression, PTSD, pelvic pain, pelvic organ prolapse, incontinence and abdominal wall separation in their female, male and trans\/non-binary patients.<\/p>\n
The center also provides general urology, gynecology and hormone therapy for trans, nonbinary and gender non-conforming patients. \u201cIt\u2019s difficult to find understanding care providers willing to offer hormone affirming therapy,\u201d says Takira Rose, a Fosnight patient receiving hormone therapy under Aleece\u2019s guidance. \u201cFinding a provider who is experienced, knowledgeable and passionate about trans-affirming healthcare is like finding a needle in a haystack, and Aleece is all of those.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Fosnight Center believes that everyone has the right to restore their mind, empower their body and optimize their pleasure, and the staff are dedicated to making that happen for their patients.<\/p>\n