Our Family Doctor

01/27/2026

Your Lungs. Your Life. Get Screened.

If you are between the ages of 50 and 80, and have smoked for at least 20-pack years (1 pack per day for 20 years), and it’s been less than 15 years since you quit, or if you are still smoking, you qualify for a LDCT (Low Dose CT) Screen.

Robust studies have shown that early detection of lung cancer with LDCT, dramatically increases survival rates when treatment is initiated expeditiously. By the time symptoms develop (chronic cough, blood in the sputum, chest pain, shortness of breath, unexplained weight loss), lung cancer is usually far more advanced, and less amenable to treatment.

What’s more, this potentially life-saving screening test is covered by most insurance plans including Medicare.

So, if you have not yet had your LDCT scan, and qualify for one, please ask your physician to refer you.

Wishing you all a healthy 2026.

Dr. Mike

12/12/2025

OFD Patients,

Flu season is officially here in WNC. Sadly, as of two days ago there have already been 9 deaths in NC from the flu (unusually early this season) and several of our OFD patients have already fallen ill. If you have not yet received your flu shot, please consider getting one at your local pharmacy to reduce your chances of contracting the flu, or at least reducing your symptom intensity should you fall ill to the flu. Unfortunately, OFD just ran out of our flu vaccines for this year.

COVID shots are also available at your local pharmacies which are very much still recommended for our older patients, as well as anyone who is particularly susceptible to COVID infection, or tends to be very sickened when they contract this virus.

Finally, for our patients who are 75 and older, if you have not yet received your RSV vaccine, please consider getting this at your local pharmacy. For folks between the ages of 50-74, who are “at-risk” (Chronic Lung Disease, Uncontrolled Diabetes, BMI > 40, Cardiovascular Disease, Immune Suppression, Advanced Chronic Kidney Disease, Cirrhosis, Frailty), the RSV vaccine would be a good idea for you as well.

And, of course let’s not forget the standard precautions: Please remember to wash your hands regularly, stay hydrated, get plenty of sleep, and consider wearing a mask if sick when with others to prevent spreading our germs.

Wishing you all a healthy holiday season.

Dr. Mike

12/10/2025

OFD Family,

I wanted to share that in 2025, OFD has decided to become a more conscious business in our approach to how we run our practice, as well as regarding out engagement within our community. I like to call it OFD 2.0. Among a host of refreshed practice directives, we have consciously embraced a deeper culture of gratitude, as well as a renewed culture of giving.

As some of you might have heard, during the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, we held our first Manna Food Drive, which was very successful. We hope to build on this success next year, as we strive to make this a yearly tradition at OFD.

Additionally, we have decided that each year, our practice will select a local non-profit to support financially with a meaningful donation pulled from our profit-share ‘bucket’. To do this, we narrowed the choices down to 6 contenders, then engaged in a staff-wide poll to select the finalist. We are excited to announce the first recipient of our new, annual, end-of-year donation.

Many thanks to the Four Seasons Foundation for the amazing work that they do for our community. Our Family Doctor is proud to be a financial supporter this year. To learn more about this worthy local non-profit, you can follow their link here: https://fourseasonsfdn.org/

Wishing you all a safe and health holiday season, and a happy New Year.

Dr. Mike

Learn about how the Four Seasons Foundation partners with the community to provide Trusted Care to anyone in need.

11/11/2025

OFD Patients,

Hope you are keeping warm during this cold snap, and staying safe on the roads.

Just a reminder that this is our last week of our 6-week MANNA food bank drive. If you are feeling inspired and are able, please consider bringing any non-perishable food items and/or unopened personal care items to the drop-off box in the OFD lobby.

We are hoping to make a significant donation of items to MANNA next week to help those in our community who are struggling this holiday season.

Thank you for your support and generosity.

Dr. Mike

10/17/2025

OFD Family,

After receiving requests from many of our older patients for years now, I am happy to report that we finally were able to improve the entrance to our building making it safer for all of our patients. We now have safety handrails along the length of our entrance ramp.

I would like to give a shout-out to the local company, Asheville Welding, for designing, fabricating and installing our new handrails. They are a great company to work with!

May these rails provide safety for our patients for many years to come.

Wishing you all a wonderful Fall weekend.

MW

10/14/2025

Just a reminder, that our first annual, Fall Manna food drive is on, and we'd love our wonderful patients to help us collect non-perishable food items here at the office.

Thanks for considering it during your next visit to OFD.

Enjoy the wonderful Fall weather.

MW

10/07/2025

OFD Family,

In partnership with Manna Foodbank, and in advance of the Holiday Season, OFD is holding a Food Drive !

October 6th – November 14th

Please consider bringing non-perishable food items and unopened toiletries to OFD during your next visit, or when next in the neighborhood.

Let’s work together to support the WNC community!

MW

09/09/2025

FLU SHOT VACCINE CLINIC - APPOINTMENTS ONLY - (NO WALK INs/DRIVE UPs)

SATURDAY 9/27/25 9:00AM-11:00AM
FRIDAY 10/24/25 9:00AM-11:00AM
FRIDAY 10/31/25 9:00AM-11:00AM

SCHEDULED APPOINTMENTS ONLY - CALL 828-252-2511, #1 MAIN MENU
CLINIC WILL BE HELD IN FRONT PARKING LOT – FLU SHOT GIVEN IN CAR
(FOR ESTABLISHED PATIENTS ONLY WHO HAD VISIT WITHIN LAST 2 YEARS)

When scheduling you will need to have updated insurance information on file for 2025, or email the insurance front/back of card to: info@ourfamilydoctorasheville.com. If there are any payments due this will be collected over the phone (debit/credit) at the time your appointment is scheduled. Flu vaccine appointments can also be scheduled during the week/business day for patients who had a visit at our practice within the last 2 years.

*YOU WILL ALSO BE ABLE TO HAVE THE FLU VACCINE IN THE OFFICE IF YOU ARE A CURRENT/ESTABLISHED PATIENT, AND ALREADY HAVE AN IN OFFICE APPOINTMENT SCHEDULED (ANNUAL PHYSICAL, WELL CHECK, OTHER NON-SICK CONCERN) OR WANT TO SCHEDULE A NURSE APPOINTMENT DURING BUSINESS HOURS

We do not offer COVID and RSV vaccines at our office. If a prescription is needed for your local pharmacy, send your doctor a portal message or call the triage phone line during business hours. The prescription will be electronically faxed to your pharmacy upon doctor's approval.

04/25/2025

OFD Family,

A big shout out to Arbory Tree Service who helped us out in a pinch this past Wednesday. After overnight rains in WNC, a large red oak tree fell into our parking lot, damaging two of our employee’s cars and blocking the parking lot entrance. A quick call to Adam owner of Arbory led to a full crew on site within 45 minutes. They expertly cut up the tree, hauled it off and left our parking lot clean and tidy. Because of their speedy work, the care for our patients was uninterrupted. OFD is very grateful to Arbory Tree Service and the important work they are doing in our community.

Dr. Mike

03/28/2025

OFD Family,

Today marks 6 months since Hurricane Helene delivered a devastating blow to our beloved WNC region. The resiliency of our communities during this time of recovery has truly been awe-inspiring. Now, as many of us have started to feel normal again or at the very least hopeful for our region’s recovery, WNC is again being rocked by another natural disaster, this time in the form of wildfires that are quickly spreading across our region. Asheville and WNC, the city and region that many of us wanted to believe was a “climate haven” prior to Helene, now looks more like Southern California. Rain, please come help us put out these fires!

Today I’d like to express gratitude for our firefighters and first responders who are on the front lines battling the blazes. I am grateful for our heavy equipment operators who are attempting to cut fire-line roads and clear fallen trees. Thanks go out to our public officials and media representatives who work tirelessly toward keeping us updated and ensuring our residents get out of harms’ way. And thanks to the many people who will volunteer and donate to this new disaster relief and recovery that will inevitably be needed.

At times like this, when Mother Nature seems to be pushing us humans around, it’s normal to feel scared and vulnerable. It’s precisely at times like this when we need to turn toward our friends, family and communities to offer support and gratitude for what we have, and for those in our communities who are trying to keep us safe and minimize the damage.

On this Friday morning, I hope that all of us remain safe and free from the ailments caused by smoke-filled air. I hope that our homes and community buildings avoid fire damage. Finally, I am praying for the folks I mentioned above who are putting themselves in harms way for all of us.

Wishing you all a safe and peaceful weekend.

Dr. Mike

03/03/2025

OFD Patients,

Given the recent outbreak of Measles in Texas, we are receiving many phone calls and portal messages from concerned patients about their immunity status regarding Measles, and whether they are at risk of contracting this very contagious virus should they be exposed.

The doctors at OFD feel that this infographic is a helpful tool for better understanding one’s risk of contracting the virus. If you are unsure and would like your immunity tested against the virus, we can order an antibody titer for you to be drawn at our lab. If you do need an MMR booster, this can be acquired at either the Health Department or your local pharmacy.

Hoping you all stay safe out there.

Dr. Mike

02/14/2025

OFD Family,

Well, it was about time to freshen things up a bit on our website so we did a bit of updating. Let us know what you think of the new look. Happy Valentine's Day and have a great weekend.

MW

Expert Asheville Doctor offering services related to: BMI scanning, hearing loss, lab testing, vaccinations, contraception, dermatology, medication refills and more.