Amanda Gaskin doesn’t do rushed medicine.

She doesn’t do “wait two weeks for an appointment,” “go somewhere else because you’re sick,” or “we’ll talk once you pay your copay.” Those rules never sat right with her. Not when she knew her patients. Not when they trusted her. And definitely not when they needed her most.

“I had patients calling me sick during the pandemic,” Amanda says. “People I had taken care of for years and I had to tell them they couldn’t come in. That didn’t make sense to me. That’s what we’re here for.”

That moment stuck. And when Florida law changed, allowing nurse practitioners to practice independently, Amanda didn’t hesitate. She saw an opening and more importantly, a way to do things differently.

Ultimate Health Direct Primary Care, LLC was born out of that shift. The idea had been building.

In a small prayer box she kept on her desk, Amanda had written a note that read: “Dear God, please order my steps in my career. I desire to provide care, as you guide me, without barriers. Please help me to be a good steward.”

That prayer was dated Sept. 2, 2020 and the line “without barriers” became the blueprint for Ultimate Health, which opened its doors in 2021.

A different kind of doctor’s office

Ultimate Health doesn’t feel like a typical medical office. There’s no sense of being rushed through. 

There’s time.

“That’s the biggest thing,” Amanda says. “It’s not seven minutes,” or ‘What’s wrong, here’s a pill.’ My job is to find out  what’s really going on with you.”

Her model flips the traditional system on its head.

Patients pay a flat monthly $99 and that’s it. No copays. No surprise bills. No choosing between groceries and a doctor’s visit.

“If you wake up sick, you shouldn’t have to wonder if you can afford to be seen,” she says. “That shouldn’t be a barrier.”

Removing barriers means same-day appointments, virtual visits and text access for simple needs. Labs are done in-house and follow-ups don’t carry extra charges.

That flexibility is everything for patients who travel, such as truck drivers or snowbirds and people with unpredictable schedules. Amanda remembers certain patients who helped shape her thinking early on.

“There’s been patients who could never make it in because of their schedules and I thought, ‘Why are we making this harder than it needs to be?’” she says.

With that, she reconfigured things and now care happens when and where patients need it.

Knowing the whole story

Ask Amanda what makes her practice different, and she’ll talk about people, not pricing, charts or convenience.

“I know my patients,” she says, adding that she means individual facts like family, medical history and patterns, stressors and more.

“I know who gets hay fever every season and I know what medications don’t work for you,” she says. “I know your history. Why would I send you to someone who doesn’t know any of that?”

That level of connection changes how care works.

When one of her patients is hospitalized, Amanda is often part of the conversation, even without admitting privileges.

“They’ll call me from the hospital and say, ‘Hold on, let me get Amanda on the phone,’” she says. “I’ll talk with the doctor about their care and the discharge plan.”

It’s not standard practice. But for her patients, it’s normal.

Because for Amanda, primary care isn’t just about treating symptoms. It’s about staying close enough to catch problems early, and sometimes, before they even start.

“I’ve got two patients right now with cancer,” she says. “Stage one because we caught it early. That’s what primary care is supposed to do.” 

From sick care to well care

Amanda talks a lot about a shift she wants to see that she believes could change everything.

“We live in a sick care system,” she says. “People wait until something’s wrong. I want us to think differently.”

Her goal is to keep people well.

That means routine labs, preventive screenings and conversations that go beyond the obvious.

“You might feel fine,” she says. “But you haven’t had bloodwork in three years. Do you really know what’s going on?”

Even she’s not immune to that reality. After a recent set of labs, Amanda realized she wasn’t drinking enough water.

“I feel great,” she says. “But my labs told a different story. So now I’m working on it.”

That’s the point.

“Wellness isn’t just how you feel,” she says. “It’s what’s actually happening in your body.”

Built on experience and instinct

Amanda didn’t always plan the unconventional path she’s on.

As a kid, she wanted to be a doctor. That changed during a high school internship at the Polk County Health Department when she saw firsthand how care really worked.

“The patients told the nurse everything and the nurse did everything,” she says. “I thought, ‘That’s what I want to do.’”

She followed that instinct to Florida A&M University, where she became a registered nurse. Today, she’s in her 20th year in nursing and a decade into her work as a nurse practitioner.

Working inside a mental health organization further shaped her approach.

“I was doing primary care inside a behavioral health setting so my training in mental health is strong. I can manage those conditions here.”

That means patients don’t have to juggle multiple providers for different aspects of their health. Physical, mental and even sexual health are all handled in one place, hence the name ‘Ultimate Health.’

“It’s all connected,” she says.

Growing with her patients

As Ultimate Health grew, the services were expanded to include weight management, hormone therapy, menopause care, mental health support and sexual health.

Each addition came from a pattern Amanda noticed in her patients and a decision to meet that need.

“I kept seeing the same symptoms in women,” she says. “So I went and got trained in menopause management. I’m certified now.”

The same goes for men’s health, which has led to her next venture: a men’s clinic set to open soon in Winter Haven, her hometown.

“I have all these wives telling me their husbands won’t go to the doctor,” she says. “So we’re bringing specialized care to them.”

The clinic will offer primary care, wellness services and aesthetic treatments, all tailored for men in a space designed to make them comfortable, removing every possible reason someone might avoid care.

“Even the décor will be manly,” Amanda says.

Leading with heart

For all the growth and innovation, Amanda’s focus hasn’t changed.

It remains on people. And Amanda is all ears.

“I had a mom in here who lost two sons and we just talked about grief, about faith, about what she was feeling,” Amanda says. “So many things can affect your health.”

There’s no billing code for that kind of care, but it matters.

“She told me things she couldn’t say out loud anywhere else,” Amanda says. “And I had the time to sit with her.”

That time, the space to listen, understand and connect, is what makes Amanda’s approach to wellness work and the way she leads her team.

Amanda encourages her staff to grow, even if it means moving on to starts their own businesses, pursue new careers or whatever the case may be.

“My goal isn’t to hold anyone here,” she says. “I want them to become what they’re meant to be.”

“Someone had to do that for me.”

The bigger picture

Ask Amanda what she’s most proud of, and she doesn’t hesitate to answer.

“My husband, my kids, they’re my everything,” she says.

She and her husband, Robbie, are raising a blended family of nine. It’s busy, loud and full of life, and it keeps her grounded.

“They’re my greatest accomplishment,” she says.

Ultimate Health is a close second – a practice that puts people first, a model that removes barriers and a system that actually feels like care.

“If I could change one thing, it would be how we think about our health,” Amanda says, explaining that it should be something you protect every day, not something you just deal with when it breaks.  

Photos: Nicole Hamel