A medical clinic recently opened in Pullman and with a different approach to healthcare.

Dr. Shaleah Jones is a traditional family physician, she said, but she will not be working with insurance companies. By not working with these companies, she is more free to practice medicine the way she wants, she said.

Dr. Jones opened her own medical clinic Sept. 1 called Dawn MD, after working at Pullman Family Medicine for seven years. Her clinic is located at 540 E. Main St. Suite A.

She said she chose to open up her own practice because she was excited to introduce a new model of healthcare to the Pullman community.

“I am free to see patients in a way that makes the most sense for the patient’s health,” Dr. Jones said. “Regarding COVID-19, I can be more flexible and be available via phone, video chat and text.”

One of the cornerstones of the model is accessibility, she said. Dr. Jones will have her practice set up as a one-stop-shop for her patients. There will be an on-site pharmacy and she will be able to run lab tests for her patients.

Her services will be billed using a subscription service. For example, students will pay $55 a month. The prices range between $20-$100 per subscription.

Appointments are also completely confidential because the clinic is not billing any insurance companies, Dr. Jones said.

“If a student is on their parent’s insurance, then a visit will show up on the statement,” she said. “With this model, everything stays completely confidential.”

Dr. Jones grew up in the Palouse, she was born in Moscow and spent her early childhood in Troy, Idaho.

She said she was inspired to pursue a career in the medical field by her own primary care physician, Dr. Drury. He took care of her entire family and delivered her and all of her siblings.

“I was one of those kids who had that dream from the time that I was little,” she said.

Dr. Jones graduated from the University of Puget Sound with a degree in biology and a minor in chemistry. She eventually attended the University of Washington for medical school, she said, and dermatology and gastroenterology were the subjects she enjoyed the most.