Direct Primary Care for the Whole Family

Personalized primary care for a simple monthly fee

Care for newborns, children, teens, and adults, with longer visits, direct access to your care team, and support for preventive care, sick visits, everyday health concerns, and common chronic conditions.

No insurance billing for included primary care services. Two membership options are available based on the level of primary care support that fits your needs.

Secure enrollment is completed through our patient portal.

Lowcountry Wellness Center is Charleston’s home for integrative, nurse practitioner-led Direct Primary Care for newborns, children, teens, and adults.

Through the Direct Primary Care model, patients build an ongoing relationship with a care team that knows them, listens to their concerns, and supports their health through every stage of life.

By removing many of the barriers created by traditional insurance-based care, we are able to offer longer visits, better continuity, more thoughtful medical decision-making, and greater access to your care team during regular business hours.

Our compassionate Nurse Practitioners provide personalized primary care focused on prevention, wellness, sick visits, routine health needs, and the management of common chronic conditions. We also consider nutrition, lifestyle, sleep, stress, and other factors that may affect your overall health.

The result is primary care that feels more connected, more personal, and more focused on helping you and your family feel heard, supported, and cared for over the long term.

FINDING THE RIGHT LEVEL OF CARE

Which Care Option Is Right for You?

Lowcountry Wellness Center offers two primary care memberships. The Lowcountry Integrative Center is a separate specialty practice for adolescents and adults with medically complex chronic illness.

Everyone begins with the same secure enrollment process. After enrollment, each new member completes a New Member Health Questionnaire. Patients with straightforward primary care needs can move forward with Foundational Primary Care without a nurse consultation. If the questionnaire suggests that Health Optimizer or the Lowcountry Integrative Center may be a better fit, Hailie, LPN will contact the patient to schedule a nurse consultation.

Compare Your Options	ESSENTIAL PRIMARY CARE Foundational BIRTH THROUGH ADULTHOOD $100 per month for adults $50 per month Children ages 0–17	EXPANDED PRIMARY CARE Health Optimizer BIRTH THROUGH ADULTHOOD $250 per month for adults $200 per month Children ages 0–17	SPECIALTY CHRONIC ILLNESS CARE Lowcountry Integrative Center ADOLESCENTS & ADULTS $895 Comprehensive Chronic Illness Evaluation $475 per month If accepted into the ongoing Comprehensive Chronic Illness Program
Type of care	Comprehensive Direct Primary Care	Expanded Direct Primary Care	Specialty chronic illness care
Patient ages	Birth through adulthood	Birth through adulthood	Adolescents and adults
Children’s enrollment requirement	At least one parent must maintain an active membership for all enrolled children ages 0–17	At least one parent must maintain an active membership for all enrolled children ages 0–17	Not applicable
Best for	Individuals and families seeking routine, relationship-based primary care	Patients who want primary care with additional testing, lab review, and wellness support	Adults with Lyme disease, mold illness, Long COVID, autoimmune disease, or other medically complex chronic illness
Newborn and pediatric care	✓	✓	Not included
Annual physicals and preventive care	✓	✓	Not primary care
Sick visits and common illnesses	✓	✓	Not primary care
Common chronic conditions	Diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol, stable thyroid conditions, and other routine primary care needs	Includes primary care management with additional wellness-focused support	Medically complex, persistent, or multisystem chronic illness
Digestive health support	Evaluation of uncomplicated digestive concerns	Additional evaluation, lab review, and lifestyle guidance for uncomplicated digestive concerns	Complex or persistent gastrointestinal conditions requiring specialty evaluation
Secure messaging during business hours	✓	✓	Included only for patients enrolled in the ongoing Comprehensive Chronic Illness Program
Annual laboratory support	$98 basic annual lab panel	Initial comprehensive lab panel and annual functional wellness panel	Specialty testing and comprehensive interpretation based on clinical need
Nutrition and lifestyle guidance	✓	Expanded support and personalized wellness planning	Individualized guidance as part of a specialty treatment plan
Advanced chronic illness evaluation	Not included	Not included	✓
Lyme and tick-borne illness care	Not included	Not included	✓
Mold illness, Long COVID, or autoimmune complexity	Not included	Not included	✓
How care begins	Complete secure enrollment Complete the New Member Health Questionnaire Our team reviews your healthcare needs Patients whose needs align with Foundational Primary Care move forward without a nurse consultation	Complete secure enrollment Complete the New Member Health Questionnaire Our team reviews your healthcare needs If Health Optimizer may be the better fit, Hailie, LPN will contact you to schedule a nurse consultation	Complete secure enrollment Complete the New Member Health Questionnaire Our team reviews your healthcare needs If LIC may be the better fit, Hailie, LPN will contact you to schedule a nurse consultation
Nurse consultation	Not routinely required for patients with straightforward primary care needs	Scheduled with Hailie, LPN when the questionnaire indicates that Health Optimizer may be the most appropriate option	Scheduled with Hailie, LPN when the questionnaire indicates medically complex or ongoing health concerns that may be better suited for LIC
How your care option is determined	Patients with routine primary care needs may move directly into Foundational Primary Care after questionnaire review	Hailie, LPN reviews your needs during a nurse consultation to help determine whether Health Optimizer is the right level of primary care support	Hailie, LPN reviews your health concerns during a nurse consultation. Patients who may be appropriate for LIC are then guided toward a Comprehensive Chronic Illness Evaluation with Dr. Penni, APRN
Comprehensive Chronic Illness Evaluation	Not applicable	Not applicable	Every prospective LIC patient begins specialty care with a two-hour Comprehensive Chronic Illness Evaluation with Dr. Penni, APRN
Ongoing LIC program enrollment	Not applicable	Not applicable	Enrollment is not automatic. After the Comprehensive Chronic Illness Evaluation, Dr. Penni, APRN recommends the care pathway that best fits the patient’s medical needs
Next step	Enroll in Primary Care	Enroll in Primary Care	Start Your Enrollment Learn More About LIC

ESSENTIAL PRIMARY CARE

Foundational

BIRTH THROUGH ADULTHOOD

$100/month

Adults

$50/month Children ages 0–17

At least one parent must maintain an active membership for all enrolled children ages 0–17.

Type of care Comprehensive Direct Primary Care

Patient ages Birth through adulthood

Best for Individuals and families seeking routine, relationship-based primary care

Includes Preventive care, sick visits, newborn and pediatric care, women’s health, mental health support, and management of common chronic conditions

Laboratory support $98 basic annual lab panel

How care begins Complete secure enrollment and the New Member Health Questionnaire. If your needs clearly align with Foundational Primary Care, you can move forward without a nurse consultation.

Nurse consultation Not routinely required for patients with straightforward primary care needs.

Complex chronic illness care Not included

Start Your Enrollment

Health Optimizer is still primary care. It is not an upgraded complex chronic illness program and does not include specialty care with Dr. Penni, APRN. Patients whose questionnaire suggests that Health Optimizer or LIC may be a better fit will be contacted by Hailie, LPN to schedule a nurse consultation.

Lowcountry Wellness Center primary care visit

Foundational Direct Primary Care

Best for: Individuals and families seeking personalized primary care focused on general wellness, prevention, routine healthcare needs, and continuity of care.

Monthly Fee:

Adults: $100/month
Children with a parent (0–17): $50/month
Please note: We require one parent to be a member with all children.
No-show fee for all appointments: $40. Arriving 10 minutes late or later without communication with our office may be treated as a no-show.

Membership Includes:

Scheduled primary care visits during regular business hours
Secure messaging with the practice during regular business hours
Evaluation and management of acute illnesses and common chronic conditions
Annual comprehensive physical exam
$98 basic annual lab panel
ECG when clinically indicated
Preventive screenings and chronic disease management
Mental health support and medication management
Nutrition and lifestyle guidance
Women’s health visits, including PAP smears and pelvic exams

**The procedure portion of PAP smears and pelvic exams is included. Pathology and outside laboratory fees are billed separately by the laboratory.

Optional Hormone Support:

Menopause Method & Andropause Method: $200/month

**This optional hormone support membership includes ongoing monitoring, clinician follow-up, and access to a supportive app. This membership is separate from and in addition to the Foundational Primary Care membership.

Health Optimizer Membership

Best for: Individuals who want a more in-depth and proactive primary care experience with additional testing, detailed lab review, personalized wellness planning, and ongoing support for long-term health concerns.

Monthly Fee:

Adults: $250/month
Children with a parent (0–17): $200/month

Please note: We require one parent to be a memMembership Includes

Membership Includes - Everything included in Foundational Primary Care, plus:

More detailed evaluation and ongoing support for chronic or long-term health concerns that can be safely managed within a primary care setting
Personalized care planning using integrative, nutrition, lifestyle, and wellness-focused strategies when clinically appropriate
Additional support for digestive health and uncomplicated gastrointestinal concerns
In-office procedures when clinically appropriate
Initial comprehensive laboratory panel valued at $342
Annual functional wellness laboratory panel valued at $301
More detailed laboratory review and interpretation
Additional education, follow-up, and wellness guidance
Hormone Management

Flexible hormone management may be provided through the Health Optimizer membership when clinically appropriate.

***Hormone care may include laboratory review, treatment planning, medication management, and ongoing monitoring. Medications, laboratory testing, and outside services are billed separately.