Integrative medicine practice brings healing to the community
By Jillian Chandler
2020 was off to a great start for Malinda Horton, APRN. In February, she officially opened the doors to her integrative medicine practice here in Sandpoint—Rooted Health Clinic and Apothecary. Then COVID-19 hit the following month, slowing the business like so many others. After much anticipation, Malinda fully reopened in June, and she is looking forward to once again have the ability to care for her patients.
Serving children and adults who are looking for a natural approach to physical and mental health concerns, Malinda partners with clients to explore the source of disease and address imbalances that prevent the body from healing. “My practice offers nutrition and micronutrient guidance, herbal medicine, microcurrent and infrared/red light therapies. I do not provide primary care, but I do see patients for wellness consultations and some simple urgent care concerns. I feel it is important for me to work with a client’s other providers so that they receive the best of care,” Malinda affirms.
She believes that there are many ways to help the body heal and that different conditions may require different therapies or expertise. “One unique therapy that I have been trained in is Frequency Specific Microcurrent. I have been using it for several years now, and it has been so effective that I use it on almost all patients,” Malinda says. “It is unique in that I can use specific frequencies to direct a microcurrent to cells in specific tissues for specific conditions. It is very calming and has been helpful for everything from acute injuries and autoimmune flares to chronic problems like nerve pain, fibromyalgia, Parkinson’s, and shortening the time it takes to heal from respiratory viruses and shingles.”
As a nurse practitioner, she understands that conventional medicine is necessary at times, but her goal is “to provide evidence-based natural medicine to prevent or treat disease without excessive medications or surgeries.”
She says she is blessed to have a husband who has encouraged her to follow her dreams, which resulted in Malinda attending a two-year fellowship in integrative medicine at the University of Arizona under Dr. Andrew Weil. As she recalls, “Several years ago I was working in a bone marrow transplant program with children and adults when I realized that we were not teaching patients how food and nutrition affects cancer. I tried to educate our team to make changes, without success, and eventually left that environment. Thankfully, my husband encouraged me to apply for the fellowship … I did, and it was life and career changing. I have never looked back.” She remains passionate about helping patients manage the side effects of cancer therapy.
Malinda finds true fulfillment in the path she has chosen, seeing patients (many who have tried other treatments or medications with no relief) leave her clinic feeling better than when they entered. “It may be a physical change, but often it’s an emotional improvement because I have the time to listen and explore the underlying problem,” she says. “I believe that God gave me this passion to learn and use the things He created to help as many people as possible.
Malinda, who relocated to Sandpoint from Utah in 2018 with her husband, did so to enjoy a quieter, smaller community and to be closer to her son’s family. When not at the clinic serving her clients, she and her husband enjoy growing food, hiking, camping, skiing and being on the water. Malinda volunteers at the Bonner County Community Food Bank, and the couple volunteers at Cedar Hills Church.
“We really wanted to be part of a community that cares for each other, and the people in the Sandpoint area definitely do that!” smiles Malinda. “We felt welcomed and knew we were home from the minute we arrived. Watching the community and businesses pull together during the pandemic was inspiring.”
Rooted Health Clinic and Apothecary
813 Pine Street
Sandpoint, Idaho 83864
208.304.4401