Dr. Bauer offers patients a natural approach to treatment
Dr. Ingrid Bauer knows that sometimes nature is the best medicine – or at least part of the treatment – for better health.
Dr. Bauer, who grew up on an organic farm, joined Western Sierra Medical Clinic as a primary care and internal medicine provider in spring 2020.
“I have a strong interest in lifestyle interventions to prevent and heal, from chronic conditions to injuries,” says Dr. Bauer, who earned her medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco. “I try to streamline medications to the most necessary and effective ones, and to use natural herbs, supplements, diet and physical modalities whenever possible.”
The treat-the-whole person approach embraced by Dr. Bauer focuses on the cause of the condition rather than just dealing with the symptoms. Medication coupled with natural remedies can be a highly effective one-two punch against everything from arthritis to diabetes, says Bauer.
“I focus on the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, lung disease, endocrine disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, pain and mental health,” she says
As a primary care provider, Dr. Bauer will offer patients a wide range of services, from annual physicals to women’s wellness exams.
Before joining Western Sierra, Dr. Bauer was at La Clinica de La Raza, a community health center that serves the diverse immigrant community in Oakland. She completed her internal medicine residency at Highland Hospital in Alameda County.
She recently traded her bike commute in the Bay Area for a 15-minute drive through the foothills to Western Sierra.
“It’s the price I pay to live in the most beautiful place in the world – the Sierra foothills,” she says.
Dr. Bauer’s mother was a registered nurse, but her own interest in medicine evolved over time. She volunteered as a “street medic” at social justice protests, was trained as an herbalist and later became an EMT before she decided to enroll in medical school.
“I am passionate about improving health care systems to increase timely and effective access to care,” says Dr. Bauer, who earned a master’s degree in Health and Medical Sciences from the University of California, Berkeley, and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology/Latin American Studies from Cornell University.
Away from work, Dr. Bauer enjoys cooking, camping, hiking, practicing yoga, gardening and taking care of an expanding collection of farm animals – chickens, goats, pigs, sheep and two cows – with her husband.