Chamber Spotlight: Dr. Matthew Johnson, Free Range Direct Primary Care

What does your organization do?
We offer simple, direct and affordable primary care to patients of all-ages.

What do you like about being a Chamber member?
I enjoy the various chamber events, getting to know other business owners and networking with others who value local businesses.

What is unique about your organization and the work you do in our community?
My practice offers a unique model of healthcare, direct primary care, which allows me to spend more time with patients, spend less time on administrative tasks, and build relationships with my patients. I work for them, not their insurance company.

What was your first job?
My first job was stocking groceries at a grocery store.

How did you choose the field you're in?
I love a challenge! I think that despite recent views on healthcare and doctors, medicine is still one of the most rewarding and honorable professions.

Who or what has inspired you most in your career?
I think my patients have inspired me the most. Giving me the ability to care for them and entrusting me with their health is very inspiring.

What is your most memorable experience in your career?
My most memorable experience in my career was my time spent in residency. For those of you that don't know, this is the time when you really learn medicine. I learned so much so fast during this time. I built some of the best relationships with my co-residents and my faculty mentors.

What is your greatest skill that you have learned or developed in your career?
My greatest skill that I have learned is to "Shut up and listen."

What's your favorite thing about the Charlottesville area?
I love the small town feel and the mountains.

What is one of your favorite local businesses, and why?
Cou Cou Rachou. Give them a visit and you'll find out why.

How do you like to spend your days off?
With my wife and two daughters doing whatever the day brings us. Usually something outside.

What animal would you be and why?
I think I would be a bird. What's freer than a bird?

What is your favorite quote or piece of advice?
I have many but one of my recent favorites is: "However mean your life is, meet it and live it; do not shun it and call it hard names. It is not so bad as you think. It looks poorest when you are richest. The fault-finder will find faults even in paradise. Love your life, difficult as it is...You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no other life but this." - Henry David Thoreau

Is there anything that you feel Charlottesville is missing? Spark ideas for others!
Charlottesville needs more independent physician-owned health facilities such as lab and imaging centers. This would help spark competition and lower costs for patients.

What else would you like to tell us about yourself and your work?
My practice is accepting new patients and I would love to take care of you and your family!