Photo: Contributed - Mark Stone

As soon as you walk in the doors of the Herbs To Wellness Naturopathic Wellness Clinic, located at 434 Cedar Avenue (KLO turns into Cedar just past Pandosy), you feel both at peace and at home. Dr. Ibby Omole and her husband Dr. Keith Sacco have just recently opened the clinic, and offer a wide range of natural health products and services.

Herbs to Wellness opened its doors in early March of this year, and Drs. Omole and Sacco are excited to bring their many years of expertise to the Okanagan. They both studied in the Seattle, Washington area and made the move to Kelowna last year. “We’ve visited a few times and were impressed with how beautiful it was here. We saw an opportunity to bring our experience to the small but growing naturopathic industry in the area.”

Dr. Omole is a BC licensed Naturopathic physician and a Washington State licensed acupuncturist. She graduated from Bastyr University with a Doctorate degree in Naturopathic Medicine and a Masters degree in Acupuncture with advanced training from Shanghai, China. In addition, she holds a Masters degree in Environmental Health promotion from York University in Toronto, Canada.

“We are a full herbal store. You don’t need an appointment, you can just walk in,” she says. “If you have a particular condition we can formulate something for you. On top of being a naturopathic doctor I’m also a licensed acupuncturist. The first time someone sees me, they get an acupuncture treatment. It’s part of your care; I don’t separate it.”

Photo: Contributed

Dr. Ibby Omole

Dr. Omole’s focus is on neurological conditions and pain. “I was trained by a group of urologists. I worked in an integrative centre in Seattle before moving here. I do general medicine as well, but where I’m really good at is urological conditions and pain management. Any kind of pain!” she explains.

For those who may be hesitant about traveling down the naturopathic route as a health solution, Dr. Omole may be a great choice, as she served as GP to many patients back in Seattle.

“Because I’ve always worked with MDs, I’m very comfortable offering that kind of treatment with people because that’s how I’ve always practiced. In Seattle I had lots of people where I was their GP. You can’t do that here in Canada but in the States I was seen as a GP. There I had many GPs who would refer their patients to me with their specific pain issues.”

In addition to naturopathic treatment, herbs and acupuncture, Herbs to Wellness offers a large selection of premium loose leaf teas. And since nutrition is such an important piece of the health puzzle, they’ve even added a nutritional coach, Guylaine Lacerte, to the team. “She is a raw food expert and her food is awesome. The reason I decided to bring her on board is I’ve been buying her stuff at the Farmer’s Market and was amazed at her delicious food. She does gluten free, dairy free, raw foods, desserts, bars… it’s really good. She’s here one day per week, and she consults with people. She is actually catering our open house on Saturday.”

Make sure you head down to Herbs to Wellness on Saturday to check out their open house. The open house runs from 10 to 5, and there will be a silent auction where you can bid on a free treatment, a tea package, an aromatherapy package and more. Proceeds go to the women’s shelter.