Leah Cordovez
Be Well Integrative Health Partners
I was born in the Panama Canal Zone and moved to TN in time to finish high school and go to Vanderbilt for undergraduate work.
Moved back to Panama for medical school (and if you have ever met me, you know my intention was to get paid in chickens and mangoes and practice at the top of a mountain), met and married a man from Nashville and moved back in 2002. We have two daughters, Gabrielle at High Point University and Sophia at DePaul University.
My residency in Internal Medicine was completed at Baptist Hospital through the UT Internal Medicine program, where I also served as Chief Resident. I joined Nashville Medical Group in 2008 and started a great run as a very busy internist. I remain an affiliate associate Professor of Medicine with UT.
It never felt like I had enough time, attention or information to take really great care of patients, so I did a 2 year Integrative Medicine Fellowship under the direction of Dr Andrew Weil at the University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine. I hold three Board certifications and am a Fellow of the American College of Physicians.
In 2016, I earned a Masters degree in HealthCare Management from Vanderbilt's Owen School of Business. It seemed a logical way to figure out how to make a different model work. I have served on the Board of St Thomas Medical Partners, HealthSpring IPA and as Regional Medical Director for STMP, which afforded an intimate look at the gears that leverage medical reimbursement.
Mpower invited me to manage their concierge practice in 2018 and I was smitten with the chance to spend so much more time with my patient and intrigued about the possibilities.
With the encouragement of some EO folks, I had the courage to start a membership-based medical (wellness) practice, Be Well Integrative Health Partners and The Be Well Foundation in Sept of 2020 . My goal is to provide the most thoughtful, nimble and individualized care for each patient, meeting them where they are, to promote and prevent illness and increase long and happy lifespans. I really just want to be the best at what I do. My challenge is how to manage a business while providing a great life for my employees as well as my patients.
A very important part of life to me is giving back, so part of what I will be spending my time doing is establishing a nonprofit prosthetic clinic in Panama. I still think about those chickens and mangoes.
Excited to be in this group.
What is a personal piece of advice (business advice/saying/quote) that you lean on and could pass on to others?
"I never lose, I either win or I learn" -- Mandela
Best business book you’ve ever read?
"From Strength to Strength" by Arthur Brooks. I mean, second only to "No Try Life", wait, which is tied with "Worth Doing Wrong"...:)
One misstep you took in your business that you could caution others about?
I compromised my vision, and changed my dream business model, out of fear of letting my employees down.
How to you de-stress after a particularly hard day?
What is this word, "stress"? I take inventory and remind myself of how f'ing good things are beneath the noise.
What’s something about you that would surprise everyone reading this?
When I moved from Panama and was applying for residency, I also applied to Auto Diesel College.
What upcoming EO event are you looking most forward to?
I'm intrigued -- yet intimidated -- by NERVE and all of these email messages I've seen recently about it.
Any exciting plans for the remainder of 2022?
Setting up our non-profit clinic in Panama!