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 online.
- No insurance billing for included primary care
- Longer visits
- Newborns to adults
Returning patient? Please call us at 843-793-1353 instead of enrolling online.
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.
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.
| Compare Your Options | ESSENTIAL PRIMARY CARE
FoundationalBIRTH THROUGH ADULTHOOD
$100 per month for adults
$50 per month
Children ages 0–17
|
EXPANDED PRIMARY CARE
Health OptimizerBIRTH THROUGH ADULTHOOD
$250 per month for adults
$200 per month
Children ages 0–17
|
SPECIALTY CHRONIC ILLNESS CARE
Lowcountry Integrative CenterADOLESCENTS & 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 |
| Follow-up schedule | Seen every 6 months
Follow-up every 6 months, regardless of how often you are seen for other visits |
Quarterly follow-ups
Follow-up visits scheduled every 3 months |
Individualized
Follow-up timing is set by Dr. Penni, APRN as part of your treatment plan |
| Why this schedule | Keeps your screenings, medications, labs, and chronic conditions reviewed on a steady rhythm, even if you feel great | Gives us regular check-ins to review labs, track progress on your wellness plan, and adjust hormone care when it is part of your plan | Complex, multisystem illness needs closer monitoring and a plan that adapts as you progress |
| 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 | ✓ |
| Next step | Enroll Now | Enroll Now | Enroll Now Learn More About LIC |
Foundational
Health Optimizer
Lowcountry Integrative Center
Care That Feels Personal
Care Built Around You
Direct Primary Care puts time and access back where they belong, between you and your care team.
Longer visits
Time to talk through everything, so you never feel rushed out the door.
Direct access to your team
Secure messaging with the practice during business hours, so questions do not have to wait for a visit.
A relationship, not a revolving door
Care built on continuity with a team that knows you and your family.
One simple monthly fee
Know what your care costs, with what is included laid out clearly.
What’s Included, and Why
Every membership is built around time, access, and a team that knows you. Here is what you get and why it matters.
Foundational Primary Care
- Scheduled primary care visits Longer, unhurried visits during business hours so we can really listen.
- Secure messaging Ask questions during business hours without waiting for a visit.
- Acute illness and common chronic conditions One team that knows you for sick visits and ongoing conditions.
- Annual comprehensive physical A yearly baseline so changes get caught early.
- $98 basic annual lab panel Core bloodwork each year, so you are not surprised by a lab bill.
- ECG when clinically indicated A quick heart rhythm check right in the office when it is warranted.
- Preventive screenings and chronic disease management Staying ahead of problems instead of reacting to them.
- Mental health support and medication management Whole-person care, not just physical health.
- Nutrition and lifestyle guidance Practical day-to-day support for the habits that move your health.
- Women’s health visits, including PAP smears and pelvic exams Procedure portion included. Pathology and outside lab fees are billed separately by the laboratory.
Health Optimizer
- Everything in Foundational Your full primary care relationship stays the same.
- More detailed evaluation and ongoing support For chronic or long-term concerns that can be safely managed in primary care.
- Personalized care planning Integrative, nutrition, lifestyle, and wellness strategies when clinically appropriate.
- Digestive health support Extra attention for uncomplicated gastrointestinal concerns.
- In-office procedures When clinically appropriate, often without sending you elsewhere.
- Initial comprehensive lab panel, valued at $342 A deeper starting picture of your health.
- Annual functional wellness lab panel, valued at $301 Tracks how things are trending year over year.
- More detailed lab review and interpretation We walk you through what your numbers mean.
- Additional education, follow-up, and wellness guidance More touchpoints and more support between visits.
- Hormone management Flexible hormone management when clinically appropriate. Medications, testing, and outside services are billed separately.
How Often We See You
Regular follow-up is what turns a visit into a plan that works.
Foundational: every 6 months
Foundational members are seen every 6 months, regardless of how often you come in for other visits. Sick visits and one-off appointments do not replace this check-in.
Why: a set rhythm keeps screenings, medications, lab results, and chronic conditions reviewed on time, even when you feel well.
Health Optimizer: quarterly
Health Optimizer members schedule quarterly follow-ups(every 3 months).
Why: a more proactive plan needs closer check-ins to review lab results, measure progress, fine-tune your wellness plan, and manage hormone care when it is part of your care.
How Care Begins
Every new member starts the same simple way.
Enroll securely
Complete secure enrollment through our patient portal.
Share your health story
Complete the New Member Health Questionnaire so we understand your needs.
We review your needs
Our team reviews your questionnaire and your healthcare needs.
Start your care
Routine needs move straight into Foundational with no nurse consultation. If Health Optimizer or LIC may fit better, Hailie, LPN contacts you to schedule a nurse consultation.
Billed separately: outside laboratory fees, pathology fees (including for PAP smears), medications, and other outside services are billed separately from your membership.
Cancellation & Rejoining
Plans change, and we make both leaving and coming back clear and simple.
Canceling Your Membership
Contact our office and we will send you a cancellation form and email. You choose one of two options:
- Immediate cancellation. Your membership ends right away and you pay the prorated amount that day.
- 30-day notice. Your membership continues through the 30-day notice period.
Returning Members
Welcome back! If you were a patient with us before, please do not enroll through the website. You already have a patient chart with us. Contact our office instead and we will make your account active again.
- Account archived for non-payment? Bring it back to active within 30 days for a $50 reactivation fee (per family).
- Left a while ago? We will check when your membership ended to see whether a one-time re-enrollment fee applies, based on the fees shown below.
New members never pay an enrollment fee. These fees apply only to former members who are rejoining, and they are charged per family, not per person.
Ready to Feel Heard?
Become a member and get care built around longer visits, real relationships, and a team that listens.
Returning patient? Please call us at 843-793-1353 instead of enrolling online.
Important Information
Direct Primary Care Notice: Direct Primary Care is a membership-based model and is not health insurance.
Website Disclaimer: The information on this website is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified healthcare professional regarding any medical condition or treatment decision.
Emergency Notice: If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.
Portal Notice: Do not submit sensitive personal health information through unsecured website forms or standard email unless specifically directed to do so through a secure process. For protected health information, please use our patient portal when available.
Supplement Notice: Any statements on this website regarding supplements, wellness products, or nutritional support have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration unless expressly stated otherwise. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.