Dr. Lok, your friendly neighborhood doc.

I grew up in a small town in Ohio, where my mother was the local chiropractor. As a child, I would be her little shadow on visits to the local Amish community. We would be invited into the patients’ homes on cold, wintery mornings: colorful herbs hanging in the kitchen; warm with the smell of fresh-baked bread. There, in the comfort and freedom of the patient’s own home, the patient would reveal their pains and receive a laying-on of healing hands. 

I grew up knowing this healing connection between doctor and patient.

I went on to pursue my own journey to become a physician in the demanding halls of medical school, determined not to forget my early experience of a truly healing doctor–patient relationship. I knew our medical system could be better—that humanity should be at the center of healthcare, not insurance companies or profit-driven medicine. I learned the conventional, evidence-based approach to health and disease at the premier osteopathic medical school, A.T. Still University in Missouri. At the same time, I used any space I had to develop whole-person medicine skills—hands-on osteopathic care, pranic-healing, nature-based practices, and other modalities.

I then completed a grueling three years of family medicine residency in the pine barrens of Maine, caring for over a thousand hospitalized patients during the COVID years and serving as the primary care physician for hundreds more in clinic. I often had to rely on pharmaceuticals to quickly address problems and move on to the next patient to satisfy insurance demands. At the end of residency, I turned down several high-paying jobs because I knew the kind of doctor I could be—and the kind of evidence-based, deeply human healing my patients deserved.

I couldn't find an established clinic that would allow me to have that healing connection with patients, so I decided to open my own in Asheville-Weaverville. 

Now two years into practicing medicine in this new—yet very old-school—way, I’m certain I won’t return to corporate healthcare. Providing evidence-based, high-quality, personalized primary care to people who might not otherwise have access to it is what fuels me every day.

It is my sincere hope that patients feel heard and comfortable at RiverRock Clinic—especially those navigating complex diagnoses or ongoing struggles who have had difficulty finding connection in our broken healthcare system. It would be my honor to be their primary care physician for the rest of their lives.  

Recognition of Honorable Mentors Throughout the Years: 

1. Cheryl Brown with Living in the Raw in Maine

2. “Mr. Albert” and his recent books

3. Dr. Callahan and Dr. Goodman

4. Dr. Anne Gonzalez with Emerald Health 

5. Survivalist Mike Douglas at Maine Primitive School