Lionheart DPC

One monthly membership, while insurance works everywhere else.

A pediatric practice built around time, access & relationships — your doctor is a text away, with same-day visits, longer appointments, and care from a doctor who knows your child & family.

10/27/2026

Have to give a shoutout to Chass Holland Photography who recently took some photos for us at Lionheart! 📸🩵

First of all, the pictures came out SO good!!!

Kearstin, after her years in pageants, is a natural in front of the camera. Me, on the other hand? Not so much 😅 I get so nervous and thoroughly awkward

But Chass has such an easygoing way about her that you almost forget she’s taking pictures. Before you know it, you’re just laughing and chatting like you’re hanging out with a friend.

And to top it all off, she had our pictures ready in just a few days!! Any photographer will tell you that editing can be very time consuming - I was seriously impressed!

Thank you, Chass!! We absolutely love our pictures! Sharing my absolute favorite one - but will be using these all the time now 💕

10/25/2026

Found the scariest Halloween costume!! 🎃👻

Unfortunately, this one isn’t make-believe. 😣

I’m already hearing open enrollment horror stories—including one family who told me their premium is going up 57%. And their deductible is increasing too.

A few frightening numbers:

▪️ Premiums: Employer health benefit costs are projected to rise 8.2% in 2027—the biggest increase since 2003 and the fifth consecutive year of unusually steep increases.

▪️ Deductibles: In 2026, bronze Marketplace plans have an average deductible of $7,476. And that’s for an individual—not even a family! That’s on top of premiums.

▪️ Denials: Private insurers selling plans through the federal Marketplace denied nearly 1 in 5 in-network claims in 2024. Yes, in-network.

▪️ More coming out of your paycheck: Surveys estimate that about two-thirds of large employers expect to increase employees’ share of premium costs in 2027.

Pay more to have insurance. Pay more to use it. Then cross your fingers it’s covered…

Very scary indeed.

** Pic of costume created with AI. Frustration from years of having insurance dictate how I care for my patients is real **

10/24/2026

Our first flu shot clinic is in the books! Thank you to everyone who came today 🥰

My favorite part? Seeing the confidence children found with their parents by their side. 💪🏻

Little ones finding reassurance after watching Mom or Dad get their shot. Kids volunteering to go first.
And a few turning the tables, holding their parents’ hands and comforting them through it. 🥹🩷

These little moments teach our children that being brave can mean feeling nervous and doing it anyway. That we can ask for a hand to hold, take a deep breath, and get through something hard together. Lessons they’ll carry well beyond a flu shot.

Plus, I got to see so many of my favorite people! We had fruit, stickers, and little trophies for our brave kiddos—but seeing how you’re guiding your children, I think we should’ve gotten trophies for the parents, too. 🏆

10/23/2026

A belated thank you to machiassavings for inviting me to such a fun ladies’ Paint & Sip evening! 🎨

Painting is definitely not a skill I’ve exercised much, but creationsbycherrie was such a wonderful coach, and I have to say… I’m kind of proud of my little guy! 👻🖤

Such a fun evening with great company. Thank you again for having me!!

10/22/2026

We’re taught that good communication starts with eye contact and active listening.

🚩 Yet we’ve built a system where clinicians spend much of their visits focused on a computer screen instead of the person sitting in front of them.

We spend years training to care for patients.

🚩 Yet clinicians often spend more time documenting care and completing administrative tasks than actually being face-to-face with patients.

We know that meaningful conversations, with time to ask questions and talk through concerns, are essential to good care.

🚩 Yet we’ve replaced so many of those conversations with stacks of printed instructions that, let’s face it, often go unread and end up in the trash.

We’re trained to develop plans of care, determine the next best steps, and follow patients over time.

🚩 Yet we’ve built a system where patients may see a different clinician at every visit

We’re trained to recognize subtle clues and early warning signs before little concerns become big problems.

🚩 Yet we’ve made timely appointments so difficult to access that patients sometimes can’t be seen until those concerns become emergencies, and the opportunity for early intervention has passed.

We spend years learning and refining the art of the physical examination.

🚩 Yet even something as fundamental as a thorough, hands-on exam is increasingly skipped altogether.

We know that preparing patients for what’s ahead is a HUGE part of good care, especially in pediatrics. Helping families understand what’s normal, what to expect, when to worry, and giving them tools for their toolbox.

🚩 Yet we expect all of that to fit into a 10-minute appointment, leaving families to figure out so much on their own.

Too often, patients feel rushed, unheard, and dismissed. And it’s not hard to understand why.

Modern medicine is remarkable. The advances in what we can diagnose, treat, and prevent are extraordinary. And yet, in so many fundamental ways, we’ve gone backwards…

We know what good medicine looks like - but the system built around us makes it incredibly difficult to practice it.💔🩺

This is WHY Lionheart DPC exists. To make room for the things that should NEVER have been squeezed out of medicine in the first place: time, conversations, continuity, thorough care, access when you need it, relationship and trust.

We do things differently. And we’re proud of it. 🦁💛

10/15/2026

I’m constantly asked by parents, “What can I do to strengthen my child’s immune system?”

And this probably isn’t the answer they’re expecting: FIBER !

There are two broad types:

💧 Soluble fiber dissolves in water and forms a gel-like substance in the gut. It can help with things like cholesterol, blood sugar regulation, and feeding beneficial gut bacteria.

🌾 Insoluble fiber adds bulk and helps keep things moving through the digestive tract.

And most whole plant foods actually contain a combination of both — which is one reason I’m a big fan of getting fiber from food whenever we can.

Fiber supplements can absolutely be useful. If you’re not getting enough fiber, supplementing is better than getting very little at all.

But a scoop of isolated fiber isn’t quite the same thing as eating whole foods. Whole foods give us different types of fibers along with vitamins, minerals and other plant compounds — and that variety helps support a more diverse gut microbiome.

My top 5 ways to get more fiber from food:
🫘 Beans and lentils
🫐 Berries
🥑 Avocado
🌱 Chia seeds
🌾 Whole grains — oatmeal, whole-grain bread, quinoa and brown rice

10/13/2026

Open enrollment is about a lot more than finding the lowest monthly premium. A few other things I want families to know:

💊 If anyone in your family takes regular medications, check the formulary.

Prescription coverage isn’t simply an HMO vs. PPO issue. Every plan has its own formulary, tiers, prior authorizations, and preferred medications.

This is especially important with expensive or chronic medications—growth hormone, certain ADHD medications, biologics, newer diabetes/weight-management medications, and other specialty drugs.

And don’t assume that because a medication was covered this year, it will be covered the same way next year❗️
Formularies change. A medication you’ve taken for years can suddenly require prior authorization, become non-preferred, or cost hundreds of dollars.

If a medication matters to your family, look it up before choosing the plan.

💰 Having insurance doesn’t automatically mean using it is the cheapest option.

For routine bloodwork, a simple X-ray, and other bread-and-butter services, cash pricing can sometimes be significantly less expensive—especially with a high deductible.

That’s another way DPC can work alongside insurance. We can use insurance for the bigger-ticket items where we really need it, while using transparent cash pricing for everyday healthcare when it saves you money.

🏦 Have an HSA or FSA? You can use those dollars for Direct Primary Care.

Starting in 2026, HSA funds can be used tax-free for DPC membership fees:

• Up to $150/month — individual
• Up to $300/month — family

Those are pre-tax healthcare dollars, which can mean meaningful tax savings on money you’re already spending on healthcare.

FSA funds can also be used for your DPC membership, but the rules for accessing those funds or getting reimbursed may vary from one employer to another. Check with your employer or FSA administrator for how to proceed.

👉🏻So during open enrollment, don’t just ask, “What’s my premium?”

🕵🏻‍♂️Look at your network, medications, deductible, out-of-pocket maximum, and HSA/FSA options.

⭐️ Most importantly, think about how your family actually uses healthcare—and what you need from your plan to get the care you need. ⭐️

*Physician

10/08/2026

I’ve had several families reach out to me lately with different concerns because they haven’t been able to reach their child’s P*P or get an appointment.

And it got me thinking… what is a P*P, exactly?

Your insurance card may say your child has one. But when your child is sick at 4:30 on a Thursday, what does having a P*P actually look like?

❓ Can you reach someone who knows your child?

❓ Can they actually be seen when they’re sick—not three weeks from now, but when you need help?

❓ Can you send a picture of a rash and ask, “Does this need to be seen?”

❓ Can you reach out when something happens and you’re stressed, worried, and just not sure what to do next?

❓ Can you get a sports clearance without panicking the week before tryouts, calling several times, and hoping someone can squeeze you in?

❓ Does your doctor know your child well enough to recognize when something is just…off?

And if we’re really honest, do you ever put off making an appointment because of the cost? Or because you’re afraid you’ll go through all the trouble of getting there only to leave feeling dismissed, so you just wait it out instead?

Primary care is more than a name on an insurance card.

A P*P should be someone you can turn to first. Someone you feel comfortable asking the little questions before they become big ones. A doctor who has time to listen, knows your child well enough to recognize when something isn’t right, and is there to help you figure out what comes next when you’re not sure.

That relationship, that support, and knowing you have someone in your corner—that’s what having a P*P should mean.

Insurance can put a doctor’s name on a card, but I think there’s a much more important question for families to ask:

✨Who is actually there for my family?✨

If this is what you want your child’s primary care to look like, that’s exactly why we built Lionheart. 🦁💛

10/06/2026

🧠 What we pay attention to matters.

Our brains are constantly filtering an enormous amount of information—and sometimes, without realizing it, we get really good at finding evidence for the things we’re already worried about.

The goal isn’t to ignore what’s hard or force ourselves to “think positive.” It’s to make sure the hard things aren’t the ONLY things getting our attention.

Try it this week. Pick one thing you want to train your brain to notice:

💼 Having a hard time at work? Look for the moments when you made a difference. What did you do well today? Where did something you did have an impact—even a small one?

🌤️ Have a child who struggles with anxiety? Help them look for the times when something they worried about turned out okay. When did they feel safe? When did they do something even though they were nervous? What went better than they expected?

🌱 When life feels heavy: Look for what is still good—the person who checked in, something that made you laugh, or one moment in your day that felt peaceful.

And perhaps it shouldn’t surprise us that our brains work this way. Scripture has been telling us for a very long time to be intentional about where we fix our attention: whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and worthy of praise - think about these things.
Philippians 4:8. ❤️

Not because the hard things aren’t real. Because they aren’t the whole picture.

10/03/2026

IBCLC training & clinical hours: DONE! 🩷✅ [101 hours!]

Next step: trying to wait patiently for the exam this spring… because it’s only offered twice a year. 🙃

In the meantime, no slowing down over here! 🙌🏻🙌🏻

Fresh cup of coffee ☕️, computer open, and today I’m starting training for another certification I am SO excited about.

This one fills an important missing piece—helping bridge the gap between something we deeply value at Lionheart and how we can actually support our patients and families with it.

I’m buzzing with excitement and determination over here. 😃 🦁💛

Address

209 State St, Suite 1
Presque Isle, ME
04769

Website

http://www.Lionheartdpc.com/, https://lionheartdpc.sigmamd.com/signup/become-a-member?step=enroll-members

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