You will not meet many medical practitioners who start out as Culinary Institute of America students or work as chocolatiers in France. But life is a journey, one that eventually led Doctor Kaleigh France from the kitchen to the clinic. “I'm still a total foodie,” she laughs from her new AgapeX offices on Park Avenue, where the Chamber helped arrange a recent ribbon cutting. A Doctor of Nursing Practice, Kaleigh began leaning toward medicine while caring for a quadriplegic man, discovering “the fulfillment I was looking for,” she recalls.
As a nurse practitioner in Florida, Kaleigh’s focus sharpened as she helped elderly patients transition from “so many unnecessary medications that caused awful side effects. They were very sick,” she recounts. “I knew there was a better way.”
Kaleigh’s “functional medicine” approach at AgapeX blends lifestyle and dietary programs with hormone therapy, body aesthetics, anti-aging treatments, rejuvenating medicine, and IV therapy, often informed by her struggle with Hashimoto’s, an autoimmune disease she developed in childhood. “Family members, even our dog, were all diagnosed with autoimmune diseases within two years,” she recalls, suspecting pesticide exposure as the cause.
Shunning gluten and highly processed food helps keep Kaleigh strong, and she limits stress with “Recharge Wednesdays” skiing, practicing Vinyasa flow yoga, and catching up on paperwork. She encouraged her patients to be equally mindful of mental balance. “Lifestyle changes have a great impact,” she avers.
A Floridian, Kaleigh has enjoyed PC ski vacations since childhood. Her family, including her two young children, “finally made the move last year,” she smiles. “We love that the kids can experience skiing and hiking right in their hometown.”
Like many Chamber partners, Kaleigh’s blending of family, career and a purposeful life is fully flowering in Park City and at AgapeX. “I love the culture,” she enthuses brightly. “It's great to be in an active community that prioritizes physical activity and good health.”