Holly Fennell, ND
InsideOut Health Solutions
IHP is excited to profile a highly successful and motivational Naturopathic Doctor, Holly Fennell. Holly founded InsideOut Health Solutions in 2005; the clinic is centrally located at Yonge and Summerhill in Toronto. Starting in a 500 square foot clinic, her practice quickly outgrew the space. The clinic now occupies the fourth floor of her building and is 1600 square feet.
InsideOut is comprised of Holly, Erin Truscott, ND, three registered massage therapists (Douglas Aboud, Heather Atkinson, Andrea Purdy), a psychotherapist (Lori Dennis), a social worker (Nelson Parker), and an office manager (Jaene Castrillon). Holly sees an average of 10-15 patients each day. Erin Truscott, ND, assists by running IV shifts that can accommodate up to seven patients at a time.
Holly graduated from CCNM with the recognition that she needed a better understanding of how the healthcare system operated in Ontario. She had a mandate to understand the benefits of the system and to determine what was lacking. She realized that a truly collaborative approach among healthcare practitioners was rare but absolutely necessary for the success of an integrated clinic.
Her motivation in opening InsideOut was to create an integrative health care centre that fostered confidence and acceptance of naturopathic medicine and naturopathic doctors as primary health care providers. She believes that naturopathic medicine serves the community best through a collaborative approach.
Many patients consider Holly as their case manager; she involves their entire healthcare team, including family doctors, oncologists, physiotherapists, and chiropractors, among others. To provide exemplary care, Holly believes that she must understand and appreciate the contribution of every practitioner on the team, striving to add value by filling in the gaps in treatment management and by incorporating naturopathic modalities into patient care. She notes that although it is important to remain humble, it is essential to assert confidence when inserting herself into the healthcare team.
Holly has found that sharing individually tailored, concrete treatment plans of action with both patients and their healthcare teams has proven highly beneficial. She feels that this practice effectively pulls everyone together and fosters a team approach. In Holly’s experience, medical doctors appreciate this communication. In addition, she finds that this direct communication can unburden patients who may be anxious about discussing naturopathic treatment options with their physicians and medical team. Holly re-iterated throughout the interview that it is not the patient’s responsibility to convince medical doctors that naturopathic doctors are highly skilled practitioners providing evidence-based recommendations; instead, this is the naturopathic doctor’s responsibility.
Referrals from medical doctors have contributed to the tremendous success that InsideOut has achieved. Holly has a close professional relationship with world-renowned sports physician, Dr. Anthony Galea, whom she has known since 2005 when the Toronto Argonauts hired her to be part of their medical team; Holly was the first naturopathic doctor ever hired by the Canadian Football League. She toured with the Argonauts for four seasons and was on the front lines as she huddled with the team doctors on the field at every game. This professionally life-changing experience drove her to formulate and develop an electrolyte product that would serve as a superior alternative to the commercially available products that Holly considered inadequate. This product was quickly adapted by many players and continues to be used by several professional athletes and doctors. Holly considers Dr. Galea a powerful mentor and says that his compassion as a physician drives her to excel in patient care.
Holly also works closely with highly sought after plastic surgeon, Dr. Trevor Born whose clinics are state-of-the-art surgical facilities, devoted to providing the latest surgical and non-surgical breakthroughs in cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgery. Dr Born has remarkably influenced Holly’s career and he refers patients to her for pre- and post-operative care. He has even taken her into his post-operative suite to treat patients that can benefit from IV therapy immediately following surgery. In fact, after several years of working together, Dr. Born and Holly identified the key nutrients required for healing and health maintenance and created a line of pre- and post-operative supplements. The line has been a huge success and has bridged the naturopathic and medical communities in a very positive way (to learn more, visit http://tmbcosmeticsurgery.com/medical-spa/nutritionalsupplements. html).
Finally, Dr.Vineet Nikore, an emergency room doctor, sports medicine doctor, and pain specialist, is another source of referrals for InsideOut. Holly considers him to be a wealth of knowledge and is proud that he respects her skills and training as a naturopathic doctor. She believes that he exemplifies the most important quality in a doctor: openness. Dr.Nikore has a keen interest in how naturopathic medicine can aid his patients’ care.
It is evident that Holly works hard to develop relationships with medical experts in multiple fields. She believes that this has been a major contributing factor to her success and growth as a clinician. It even guides the choices of nutraceutical companies and laboratories that InsideOut associates with. She does not support one brand but the best products from many different companies. Holly is grateful for the support from companies such as Douglas Labs, Pascoe, and Biotics Research. She stocks her dispensary with companies that stand behind their products both scientifically and ethically. The clinic also offers many integrated laboratory tests by such companies as Metametrix, Doctor’s Data, and Gamma Dynacare. Holly has developed relationships with the group of experts employed by these companies and maintains regular contact with them for current research in the field and on products.
Holly is passionate about excellence in patient care and management and IHP is grateful that she allowed us a glimpse into her practice. The success that InsideOut Health Solutions has cultivated should be motivational for healthcare providers to collaborate and create stronger bridges amongst various professions.
