Matt Falkiewicz, MD
Hello! My name is Matt Falkiewicz, and I am one of the physicians of Nova Direct Primary Care. Nick and I would like to give you an opportunity to get to know us a little better and why we do what we do. I grew up in Fenton, Michigan (just south of Flint) with my mom and two brothers. I attended the University of Michigan Ann Arbor for undergraduate studies and majored in Biology. I graduated in 2010, and I took a year off before starting medical school at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit. I got married during my second year to my long-time girlfriend/fiancée, who is now a veterinarian. After graduating from Wayne State, I started my Family Medicine residency training program at Grand Rapids Medical Education Partners (now Mercy Health Grand Rapids Family Medicine Residency). My wife and I welcomed our first son on Halloween 2016, and he has been a huge source of joy in our lives! Since graduating, I am now on my own. My passions include reading, cooking, spending time with my family, and wine tasting.
I got into medicine for three reasons: I love science; I love continuous learning; and I love hearing about each person’s unique story. Shortly after starting residency, something became blatantly obvious to me: the relationship between the patient and physician was being eroded by outside factors. Clicking boxes and administrative burden seemed to be more important than patient care. I became exposed to the model of Direct Primary Care in the middle of residency and haven’t looked back since! I truly believe in the model as it provides transparency, accessibility, and affordability, some things rarely provided by the current insurance-based system. I know that the type of care I can provide with just the patient and me is more holistic and thorough. No rushed visits, no long waits to see me, less administrative burden, no check boxes, just health care at an affordable price. That is what I want for my patients, and I hope you want that for yourself too.
Nick Blank, MD
I am the other half of the Nova DPC physicians, and like Matt said, we would like to give you a chance to know us a little better. I grew up in Haslett, MI which is just east of East Lansing. I attended Michigan State University for undergrad, and from there I followed in my father’s footsteps and continued at MSU with the College of Human Medicine, completeing my first two years in Grand Rapids and my clinical two years in Flint, MI. Near the end of my time in Flint, I reflected on the various places around the country I had interviewed and found my heart was still in Grand Rapids. So, I returned for my residency in Family Medicine, where I met Matt and we served as Co-Chief Residents.
Along the way we had many discussions about our future, and after deciding we wanted to go out and hang our own shingle, we talked about what kind of practice we wanted to start. Many of our discussions revolved around why we went into medicine and what we saw as the barriers to delivering the care we had set out so many years ago to provide to patients. For me, entering the medical field was far from a foregone conclusion. From the start, I had received advice to explore other options, and I did. In fact, I explored many options before deciding on medicine. I’ll spare you the details here (although feel free to ask me about it), but ultimately, it was my best friend in high school suffering a ruptured AVM (basically an aneurysm) and his years of trials afterward that moved me to the medical field and Family Medicine. It’s the human side that motivates me, learning about my patients and helping them, walking the path with them that makes medicine worth it for me. In the mainstream medical system, this is becoming increasingly difficult to accomplish. In a world dominated by paperwork, cramped waiting rooms, short appointment times, lack of same-day appointments… the list keeps going, as you know. The direct primary care model is a way we can give you the care you deserve, in the way you need it. Admittedly, our practice won’t be perfect for everyone, but I hope we’ll hear from you, so we can help you figure out if we may be the right fit!