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Soup Season, OHP & a Little AndyND Practice Update
Hello beautiful community,
I don’t know about you, but I am so ready for this change in season. A friend referred to it today as “soup season,” which I simply love! Yes, because the weather is cooling and I am very ready for big pots of soup and cozy evenings. But also because fall can feel a little soupy. Routines change. New things begin. Old things resurface. We get stirred up.
In Ayurveda, fall is vata season: airy, changeable, sometimes ungrounded. We can feel a little like leaves caught in the wind, or ingredients tumbling around in the pot before everything has had time to settle and meld together.
I’ve been feeling some of that soupiness myself lately.
AndyND is still a very young practice, and building it has brought me face-to-face with parts of our healthcare system that are deeply activating for me. I opened this practice wanting to create medicine with more time, more relationship, more humanity, and more access. And then there are moments when I find myself tangled in the very systems that make those things difficult.
One of the things getting stirred up for me right now is the tension between my desire to make care accessible across incomes and the realities of working with OHP. Since opening AndyND in February 2026, I have not yet received payment from CareOregon for the care I have provided to my OHP patients.
This is the kind of thing that stirs me up. It is hard to do work I care deeply about and not know when, or if, I will be paid for it. I can feel myself getting pulled into frustration, fear, and all of the stories that come with them. And this is where I am trying to practice what I ask of so many of you: noticing what is being activated, staying grounded in what I know to be true, and finding compassion without pretending that something difficult is okay.
I want to be very clear: I am not sharing this because I am announcing a change to your care. I am still seeing my current OHP patients, and I want you to keep your appointments, schedule your follow-ups, and come to me when you need care. You will not be responsible for visits that CareOregon has not paid.
I am sharing this because I believe in transparency, and because I trust this community.
There is a particular kind of trust involved in healthcare. You bring me your bodies, your stories, your fears, your questions, and often some of the most vulnerable parts of your lives. I don’t think that trust should only move in one direction. I want to be honest with you about what it looks like to build and sustain the kind of practice I am asking you to believe in, including when things are uncertain.
I also know that providing care without being compensated is not something a small practice can sustain indefinitely. I don’t know what this will mean long term. People are working behind the scenes to figure out what is happening, and for now, I remain hopeful.
Maybe that is part of what soup season has to teach us. We can notice what gets stirred up, stay curious about what rises to the surface, and hold compassion while still acknowledging when something isn’t working.
If you are reading this and thinking, “Is there anything I can do to help?” there are two things that would make a real difference:
Leave AndyND a Google review. I would love to get to at least 10 reviews as a first milestone. Because AndyND is still new, reviews help the practice become more visible in Google searches and help new patients feel confident reaching out. More people finding AndyND helps me build a sustainable practice with enough flexibility to keep providing accessible care when insurance doesn’t pay or cost is a barrier.
If you are a CareOregon member, call CareOregon and advocate for your care with AndyND to be covered and paid. Letting them know that access to this care matters to you helps.
Neither of these things is an obligation. You do not need to advocate for me in order to receive care from me. But if you have been wondering how you can support this little practice, these are two genuinely meaningful ways to do it.
Eventually, things settle. The flavors meld. The leaves come back to earth. We find our rhythms again.
And, ideally, I get to curl up with an actual bowl of soup and watch Gilmore Girls.
For now, I am continuing to show up, advocate for this little practice, and care for the people who have trusted me with their health. Thank you for being part of this community while I figure out how to build something that is both compassionate and sustainable.
Upcoming Practice Closures
I wanted to give everyone plenty of notice about a few upcoming times I’ll be away from the office this fall.
AndyND will be closed:
September 23–27, 2026
November 25–December 2, 2026
December 24 – 26, 2026
December 31 – January 1st, 2027
During these dates, I will not be available for appointments, prescription refills, referrals, portal messages, or other patient communication.
If you’ll need a refill, referral, lab order, or follow-up around these dates, please reach out ahead of time. I also recommend checking your medication supply before each closure to make sure you have enough until I return.
Thank you for helping me plan ahead so I can be fully present with patients when I’m here and truly step away and recharge when I’m not.
The Community Board
Use Discount code ANDYND26 for a free drop in class is
Have something for the community board?
One of my favorite parts of this practice is seeing the incredible things this community is creating.
If you have an upcoming workshop, fundraiser, art show, small business, volunteer opportunity, or community event you'd like others to know about, I'd be happy to help spread the word through a future newsletter or on the clinic cork boards.
You can send me the details through ChARM or bring a flyer to your next visit. Supporting one another is one of the ways we build a healthier, more connected community.
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