Dr. Wallenius entered medicine with a  desire                                               to provide whole person, team based,                                                           integrated behavioral health primary medical                                               care to individuals and families in a                                                                 community health center setting.  After                                                         completing UNC School of Medicine at Chapel Hill, where he earned awards in Family Medicine, Community Service and The James Bell Bullitt Award in recognition of unusual achievement, Dr. Wallenius completed a Family Medicine Residency and Behavioral Medicine Fellowship at MAHEC.  Dr. Wallenius maintains certifications from the American Boards of Family Medicine and Addiction Medicine, and the American Academy of HIV Medicine.  Dr. Wallenius joined WNCCHS in 1998, and has served as Medical Director since 2012. 

​

                                             James Holbrook is a board certified Family                                                   Nurse Practitioner who began work at                                                           WNCCHS in October of 2020.  He obtained                                                 his BSN in Nursing from Western Carolina                                                     and his Doctor of Nursing practice from East                                               Tennessee State University. He began his practice in Evanston, IL, where he completed the Jane R. Perlman Advanced Practice Provider Emergency Medicine Fellowship. He then returned to Asheville where he has worked in both emergency and urgent care as well as an outreach provider for Vecinos, inc. Farmworker Health Program in Cullowhee, NC. He has worked with Partners in Health in Port Loko, Sierra Leone in the Maforki Ebola treatment unit and at Princess Christian Maternity Hospital in Freetown, Sierra Leone. He has also volunteered in Rwanda and Mexico. James speaks English and Spanish and enjoys reading, climbing, and writing.

​

                                      Theresa Oursler is a board certified Family                                                Nurse Practitioner who has been employed at                                          WNCCHS since 2010. She is very grateful                                            to be able to provide primary care to her                                                patients as part of the caring, diverse and                                                dedicated staff at WNCCHS.  She has lived in WNC since 1981 and loves these mountains.

​

                                      Kelly is a board certified family nurse                                                      practitioner. She has been an RN since  earning                                        her Bachelors of Science in  Nursing from Johns                                        Hopkins University in 1999. She earned her                                            Masters of Science in Nursing from Western                                            Carolina University in 2014. Kelly was a resident in the inaugural Advanced Practice Clinician in Safety Net Residency, graduating in 2015. She has been working as a primary care provider at WNCCHS since then. She has a passion for caring for all people, regardless of ability to pay. In her free time, Kelly loves being outside and spending time with family, friends, and her pets. 

​

                                      Dr. Fuller (they/them/theirs) is a board certified                                        family physician who joined the WNCCHS                                              team in 2016 after graduating from MAHEC’s                                          Family Medicine Residency Program. The sole                                          recipient of the Gold Humanism Award at East                                          Tennessee State University’s Quillen College of Medicine and a member of the Gold Humanism Honor Society, Fuller has a passion for community and underserved medicine. Their practice includes transgender health, HIV care, women’s reproductive health and obstetric care, and minor in-office procedures. Fuller is a certified HIV specialist, and is a member of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, and the American Academy of Family Physicians. In their spare time, Fuller is an avid collector of records and all things kitschy, a social justice activist, an animal lover, and a mediocre vegan chef.

​

                                      Dr. Patel is a board-certified family medicine                                            physician who joined WNCCHS in January of                                          2021.  He is a graduate of Ross University                                              School of Medicine and East Tennessee State                                            University Family Medicine Residency Program                                          in Johnson City.  Dr. Patel is from Asheville and is excited to be caring for the community that helped raise him.  His scope of practice ranges from pediatrics to adult medicine.

 

                                             After completing the MAHEC Family Practice                                               residency thirty years ago I began my career                                                 working in public health, at first attending to                                               patients in adult and child primary care, STD,                                               PN, FP, and TB clinics at the BCDH.                                                               Eventually I gravitated towards a practice of only women’s health.  At WNCCHS, Irma Quinones and I lead Centering groups of prenatal care, and also see pregnant patients individually.  In our groups we invite community partners to come here and teach subjects like the Power of Positive Parenting, Sexual Safety and Sexual Trauma Prevention. Our groups are mostly in Spanish and create a wonderful setting to socialize with other mothers and to learn a lot about their pregnancies and young families.

​

I also perform family planning procedures such as IUD and contraceptive implant insertions and removals.  I work with a very excellent sonographer, Sharon Schneider to perform Ultrasounds in the areas of Obstetrics and Gynecology and also with the world’s greatest OB nurse, Luci Sparks.  We have a great Women’s Health Team at WNCCHS!

​

                                             Dr. Abbott is a board-certified family                                                             physician who has worked at WNCCHS since                                               2005.  She is a graduate of the University of                                                 Colorado School of Medicine and MAHEC                                                   Family Medicine Residency Program.  Her                                                     practice includes pediatric, adolescent and adult medicine, with a special focus on transgender health and gynecological procedures.  She is certified as an HIV specialist through the American Academy of HIV Medicine, and is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians and the World Professional Association For Transgender Health.  She is fluent in Spanish.  

​

                                             Lenea is nationally board certified Physician                                                 Assistant who graduated from Duke                                                               University with a Master of Health Science in                                                 2015. She completed an advanced practice                                                 clinician safety net residency program at                                                       WNCCHS in 2016, and has been on staff as a full time primary care provider since. She is fluent in Spanish, and is very passionate about working in community health.  Her scope of practice includes pediatric, adolescent, and adult medicine, and she is a certified HIV specialist by AAHIVM.  With a goal of providing high quality, compassionate care through open communication, Lenea hopes to help all patients achieve their optimal state of health.

​

                                             Dr. Davis (he/him) is a board-certified family                                                 medicine physician who joined the WNCCHS                                               team in 2020 after graduating from University                                               of Colorado Swedish Family Medicine                                                           Residency Program in Denver, CO. He is a                                                     graduate of East Tennessee State University’s                                               Quillen College of Medicine. He is originally from Eastern Tennessee and moves back to Western NC to be close to family/friends and enjoy the Appalachian Mountains. Dr. Davis practices full-spectrum family medicine including pediatrics, prenatal care, and adult medicine. He is currently working toward becoming a nationally certified HIV provider. Dr. Davis chose WNCCHS because of his passion for serving those who “fall between the cracks” and are unable to obtain affordable appropriate healthcare. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, biking, fishing, skiing, and spending time with family/friends and his 2 hyperactive dogs. 

​