Inspiring Conversations with Dr. Elizabeth Dulaney-Cripe of Valivera Health

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Elizabeth Dulaney-Cripe.

Hi Dr. Elizabeth, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
If I go way back, growing up, my mom was a registered nurse in the pediatric ICU. She worked long hours and would really get joy from connecting with her patients, their families, and seeing them ‘graduate’ from the ICU. She took really good care of her patients. I told her one day that I really wanted to be a nurse; I wanted to do what she did. She looked me square in my pre-teen eyes and said, “Absolutely not! You will get fired on your first day!” At that time, the medical hierarchy was strict. She already knew I challenged norms and fought for what was best, sometimes to a fault.

Fast-forwarding, I was in medical school and wanted to “fix things”. I knew based on our experience in the medical school setting that I felt my impact would be greatest in surgery and fell in love with orthopedic surgery. We could take something literally broken and fix it. We could help people walk and move again. We could take away pain.

In practice, I learned that those things were not enough for me. I wanted to understand why fixing something worked really well in one person, and another did not recover the same way. I wanted to understand alternative ways of healing, pain control, the effects of our metabolism, our mindset, and our strength on our healing. This brought me to my fellowship in integrative medicine and lifestyle medicine certification.

I really loved integrating those parts into my practice. Then, due to unforeseen circumstances, I realized operating was not going to be a long-term part of my career. It was an absolutely wonderful time to pivot. An opportunity with a fantastic physical therapist and entrepreneur became available; an opportunity that allows me to utilize my musculoskeletal knowledge and my whole-person belief of health, so I went for it. This September, Valivera Health will open. I am excited to provide conservative musculoskeletal care, evaluation, and treatment plans that involve the whole person, including hormonal health. The focus is not just treating the injury anymore, but how we can make changes now to influence our health and longevity moving forward.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Goodness, no. I think those struggles, though, helped me to identify who I was and what I wanted. Orthopedic surgery is a very male-dominated field, while I am only 5’2”. Historically, the interview trail as a fourth-year medical student required significant travel and many interviews for limited residency spots. This trial is high-pressure for anyone, but especially for female students, who had increased scrutiny and were few in the program at the time. I ended up landing in a great residency and knew I wanted a family. Having children in residency (especially in an ortho surgery one) was very uncommon at the time. I learned to value my uniqueness – though I was not the tallest, strongest, or smartest, I learned what my true strengths were.

I learned how I value family – I had two boys in residency, and would not change a thing. I continued to prioritize family in practice; I limited my caseload and work hours so I could be a part of their lives. While I was gone and missed more than I wanted, they knew how special it was when I did make it to a field trip or class party.

Now, they are pre-teens to teenagers, and are super supportive of my new venture, which means the world to me, especially as I am just in the infancy of learning the successes and struggles of entrepreneurship.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Valivera Health?
This is a brand new concierge medical practice founded by a lifestyle-trained orthopedic surgeon with a footprint within a wellness practice carrying a vision to provide whole-person care. Valivera Health is right next door to a physical therapy practice, multiple personal fitness specialists with different areas of expertise, a nutritionist, pilates instructor, and connections to functional medicine and massage therapy.

Valivera Health was built with a mission to partner with patients navigating transition. A transition can be returning from an injury that is affecting your strength or mobility. A transition can be preparing for a surgery, such that the return is greater than where they started. A transition can be the changes we see with aging: loss of strength, weight changes, anxiety, irritability, and sleep.

There is so much information out there – Valivera Health is there to listen to the patient, help them decipher the truth in the chaos, partner with them on their goals for treatment, and together create a plan that allows them to utilize many different areas of medicine to fit their comfort and goals.

The benefit of being a surgeon is having seen patients before, during, and after surgery. I have seen recovery go well as well as patients recover less than expected. I know that surgery is sometimes not the answer, or not the first answer, but that there are times when surgery is the only answer. At Valivera Health, blending surgical experience, musculoskeletal knowledge, integrative training of alternative or supplementary treatment methods, lifestyle medicine training, and training in hormone health, we know there is not one right answer for everyone.

Specifically, Valivera Health is there to listen as things change- if symptoms change, if goals change – to continue to partner together with an adaptable, personalized plan.

How do you think about happiness?
I love empowerment. Having children has really demonstrated this to me. I used to say I loved teaching, but now I know it is so much more than that. Knowledge is power – knowing you have the power within you to provide meaningful change or accomplish a task you felt was out of reach; that is amazing. I really enjoy watching my kids in the activities they love. They take a bit after me in perfectionism, so at the beginning of something new they struggle. The joy of watching them learn and master a skill, a dance, a team success…that makes me happy. Watching a patient fulfil their goals after an injury, disease, or surgery, knowing that they had an active and integral part in their recovery…that makes me happy to be their guide.

Pricing:

• I recommend an initial wellness consultation to provide a comprehensive assessment. I prefer in person, but we will offer telehealth within Ohio. The initial consultation is $600.
• I know I am not for everyone and would like to offer a free 15 minute discovery call to see if personality and philosophy match prior to such an investment, if the patients would like.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.valiverahealth.com/login (coming soon!)
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/valiverahealth/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/109287714666493
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liz-dulaney-cripe