As a primary care physician, Dr. Valerie Moreland most values being able to build long-term relationships with patients. “To tell you the truth, I went to med school thinking I was going to be a neurologist,” she explains. “But along the way I kept gravitating back to family medicine because it allows you to take care of people of all ages over a long period of time. I really enjoy building those ongoing relationships with patients.”

In her practice Dr. Moreland likes to stress the importance of preventative medicine. “I think it makes so much more sense to prevent illness and disease if you can. That’s why I encourage people to eat a healthy, colorful diet of natural foods. It does take more effort to plan out your meals and eat healthier but it’s worth it. I spend a lot of time talking about nutrition and lifestyle with my patients because I would rather help them avoid potential problems now so they don’t have to deal with them later.”

Dr. Moreland believes in a collaborative approach with her patients, working hard to keep them informed and part of the process every step of the way. “I always tell my patients the final decision is yours, I’m just here to give you my professional opinion. Most of the time patients wind up doing what I have asked them to do, although it may take them some time to come around. I think people always respond to a collaborative approach better than scare tactics.”

Dr. Moreland admits that there is one particular area of care that she strongly encourages her patients to take advantage of and that is vaccinations. “I think one of the reasons people don’t get vaccinations for themselves or for their children is that they have no living memory of how devastating diseases like measles, mumps and polio are. They don’t realize the risks they are taking when they forgo them.”

When she is not busy with patients Dr. Moreland likes to spend as much time as possible with her husband and two children. She also enjoys reading, tending her vegetable garden, and experimenting with vegetarian cooking.