About Kestrel
Kestrel: Wellness Together provides a comprehensive approach to your health
Good healthcare begins when you find a doctor who not only has time to listen to you and address your health concerns, but can also give you regular guidance on how to upgrade your lifestyle habits that are key to creating wellness. At Kestrel, we are motivated by helping our patients find real wellness, not just covering up symptoms with more medications.
Unlike conventional medicine that focuses more on the diagnosis and prescription, Kestrel Wellness takes a much more proactive, holistic, and personalized approach. We also follow the principles of functional medicine, which focuses on understanding the biochemical individuality of each patient, how your environment impacts you, and how best to boost your body’s innate ability to heal itself.
Our care is structured in a program format in place of a your “generic visit” because we know from experience that healing is a journey – and we are here to take you every step of the way. While a average doctor’s visit is around 7 minutes, we know that more time is needed to explore all the factors that could be impacting your health. Our program format also allows for more time with your doctor to address your concerns, go over your medical history and clinical testing, and anything that is happening in your life that could be impacting your health such as diet, stress, environmental toxins, sleep issues, and more.
In our program, Dr. Henriksen uses his combined knowledge and years of experience – both as a traditionally trained MD and as a functional medicine practitioner – to help you get to the root cause of whatever health blocks you may be experiencing. He developed the membership model as a hybrid healthcare plan, taking the best from two care systems while introducing realistic and optimal solutions that fit your lifestyle and goals. This means we meet you when you’re in need—not when the office can “squeeze” you in.
Our care program can also be combined with other energy healing approaches you may be receiving from other practitioners. As we follow a truly holistic approach, we respect other natural healing modalities which can greatly improve emotional and mental stability – including meditation, Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine, reiki, and yoga.
We also have options to include basic tips on how to get started with mindfulness practices and tapping to better relieve stress. In our practice, we support the use of stress management tools to help you through difficult times such as faith-based health related anxiety, dealing with family issues or even going through a faith transition.
Through a flexible membership program, we make every minute count with the families and individuals we care for and we believe in empowering patients so that they can actively participate in leading a healthier, more balanced life. Compared to conventional care, we also give you better access to your doctor, so that you feel truly cared for, receive the regular guidance and tools you need and learn how to implement the changes to start your healing journey with confidence.
About Rick Henriksen, M.D., M.P.P., Kestrel Founder
Rick Henriksen, M.D., M.P.P. is a Salt Lake City-based, board-certified, family physician. He treats patients through an integrated approach to health and wellness. He draws upon over 10 years of experience using principles of ancestral health, western, integrative, and functional medicine to improve the long-term health and “whole-body wellness” of his patients.
Outside of the office, he is a family man, an athlete and health enthusiast, an adventure seeker, and world traveler. With active kids in tow and an appetite for new experiences, Dr. Henriksen also understands what it feels like to be a patient, as well as a parent to one. Frustrated with the limitations and gaps involved in today’s healthcare model, Dr. Henriksen drew from his unique perspective—that of both doctor and patient to found Kestrel.
While he’s been an advocate of healthcare and tech integration, he is also painfully aware of growing patient concerns stemming from today’s more impersonal and costly healthcare experiences. Thus, Dr. Henriksen took his list of common patient issues (from waiting room inconvenience to lost time and reactive medicine) to create the new clinical model found in Kestrel.
Today, Kestrel helps connect patients and their healthcare partners by making treatment and medical guidance more convenient and accessible than ever.
Prior to Kestrel Wellness, Dr. Henriksen completed his medical degree in the Bronx at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and his family medicine residency training at the University of Utah. After residency, he stayed at the University of Utah where he taught residents and medical students for seven years as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine. In addition, he has a Master of Public Policy with a focus on Health Policy. He completed a fellowship in Integrative Medicine through the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine. He is a founding board member and past-president of Physicians for Ancestral Health.
“I am a Family Physician. It is not just my career or my job, but it is who I am. I love helping people find their passion. I love guiding people in making positive lifestyle changes. I love being a resource for my patients in times of need.
I believe strongly in the power of community and peer motivation. Everything seems to be easier with a committed friend or family member.
Over the last 10 years, I have been using Ancestral Health and Integrative medicine principles to dig deep into the root causes of my patients’ symptoms. There is no better feeling, than being able to help patients start improved lifestyle behaviors leading to wellness and happiness.”
Discovery Call
Are you ready to feel empowered to launch into a healthier life?
Interested in taking the complications and inconveniences of traditional healthcare out of your wellness equation?
Let’s chat!
To get started with a video chat or phone call:
- Click the link below and to answer a few questions about you and what type of help you are looking for.
- Schedule a 15-minute complimentary Discovery Call with one of our providers.
- During the session, we’ll review the benefits of Kestrel Wellness membership and help you see if we would be a good fit
- We will not be diagnosing and giving medical advice during the call.
Our Technology
Ever wish you could text your doctor? What about skipping over the time-consuming Q&A intake process—time better spent with your physician? With a Kestrel Membership, you can.
We have hand-selected the most user-friendly, results-driven tools available for patients to complement physician visits. And, yes, this even includes asking your doctor questions after hours, at your convenience.
Elation Health—As part of your membership, you always have access to your electronic medical records. This access provides an extremely time and user-friendly approach to keeping track of your records no matter where you are receiving treatment. Through Elation, your entire wellness team can coordinate your care in a more streamlined and safe fashion, while ensuring a deeper level of continuity in care overall. The records are dynamic and can be organized for reports and information gathering that can also help Dr. Henriksen spot trends in your health or possible root causes for a chronic health issue. From your Elation portal, we can look at your charts together, track prescriptions, and order lab work. Ultimately, this modern-day convenience makes the appointment that much more succinct and productive.
Spruce Health—Your health in real time—Day or night, just a click away. As a Kestrel member, your exclusive access to Spruce’s comprehensive, secure healthcare mobile app allows you to keep all of your communication and important patient documents in one place. You healthcare ‘hub’, Spruce makes it possible for us to meet you where you are with SMS, email, and app-to-app, secure messages.
FAQs
A cool bird 😉
Any of the following medical situations or occurrences can be addressed by Dr. Henriksen; however, if you do not see something listed, please schedule a membership information session to get your questions answered.
Acute Care: Coughs, colds, flu, sinus and ear infections, sore throat, fever, rashes, diarrhea, back pain, asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, kidney and bladder infections, non-life threatening medical issues
Physicals: School, Athletic, Scout, Adult, Mission, Annual
Pediatrics: acute care as listed above
Chronic Therapy: Diabetes, Arthritis, Acid reflux, High blood pressure, High cholesterol, Cardiovascular disease, Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia, Asthma, COPD, Non-narcotic pain management, Low back pain
- Cost of lab testing
- Chronic pain management
- Ongoing treatment with controlled medications
- Substance abuse withdrawal
- Major surgeries
- Procedures involving general or regional anesthesia
- CT scans
- MRI scans
- Echocardiograms
- Cardiac stress tests
- Pre-natal and obstetrical care
- Electroencephalograms
- Medications
- Injections of any type administered in-office by a participating provider
- Any care given by a provider not listed as participating in this membership
- Any care in the sole determination of the provider that is best handled in the emergency room of a hospital
- Any procedure in the sole determination of the provider that falls outside of his or her area of training or expertise
- Care rendered by specialists or specialty clinics
Of course! Dr. Henriksen loves to see patients of all ages. He has five children himself and knows the particular worries and stress from having sick kids. Home visits are ideal for kids because he can come to you when they are sick or even to do their annual visits, scout, or sports physicals.
Lab testing and radiology including x-rays are NOT included in the membership. If you have insurance (which covers these), you will be sent to a covered facility. I also have contracts with Labcorp and Mountain Medical Imaging Services to provide discounted services.
Example: Members in need of a cholesterol panel can expect costs around $4.50 and a TSH for $5.50. For now, blood draws will be done at Labcorp facilities. However, in the future, this may be added to the clinic. Before lab testing is ordered, you will know the exact cash price.
Example: An anticipated cost at Mountain Medical for a chest x-ray is $40.
If you have an emergency then you should call 911 or go directly to the emergency room. If it is urgent but not an emergency such as needing stitches or vomiting, then Dr. Henriksen can provide a home visit or you can come to the clinic for care.
There will be someone on call to provide guidance. Dr. Henriksen works with other providers and nurses to help with urgent matters for our Kestrel Members. It is an emergency then you should call 911 or go to the Emergency Room.
Kestrel does not replace traditional health insurance; However, depending on your insurance provider, many of our physician-based services may be covered. Kestrel is intended to enhance and complement conventional health care programs. You should ideally still have insurance to cover emergency, prescription and hospital services.
This is best answered by asking you the following question: How much value are you actually getting out of your health insurance, now? Sadly, insurance can be extremely limited in coverage and designed with broad parameters to define what we, as individuals, need to sustain basic overall health and wellness. A Kestrel Membership can be an extremely convenient and customized solution for patients of any age and stage in life. Healthcare is personal and it should be designed to work for you.
Kestrel addresses many of the holes and gaps that exist in healthcare insurance and actual patient care.
There are no additional costs if you stay within the limits of the plan you choose.
While the cost of Kestrel Membership does not qualify for your deductible, membership will still be cost effective for you in many cases. In many cases, the deductible per person is $2000 or $3000 a year. Most people will not hit their deductible and end up paying for their medical care out of pocket anyway. Membership in Kestrel will provide a higher quality of service for similar costs in many cases. The value you receive will be worth it.
It is important, however, to still have your insurance coverage for emergency, hospital or surgical services.
Monthly payments must be made through the automatic payment system through hint.com. Hint will automatically withdraw from your bank account.
There are no refunds for monthly memberships as you can cancel at anytime. You will not receive a prorated amount for cancellation.
For yearly memberships, if you cancel before 6 months into the membership you will receive 50% back. If you cancel before 9 months, then you will receive 25% back.
There is no refund on the enrollment fee.
You can cancel any time. Our goal is provide high quality care. If you are not happy or the relationship is simply not working, then we want you to find the best place for your care!
Send an email to info@kestrelwellness.com with a letter stating your desire to cancel your membership.
There will be! Please email info@kestrelwellness.com for more information about the Kestrel Scholarship.
We are available during regular business hours with some openings outside of those times for urgent needs.