Frannie Koe, MD

Dr. Frannie Koe, MD, MPH, is a family physician at Valley Care DPC in Collinsville, Alabama, with a longtime interest in nutrition and self-sufficient, regenerative living that shapes her approach to care, connecting mind, body, food and farming for her patients.

She was 31 when she decided to pursue medicine, first earning a Master's in Public Health before applying to medical school. An advisor introduced her to the Rural Medical Scholars Program, her longtime dream, and she was selected for the top spot among all applicants. She started at the University of Alabama School of Medicine at 39, likely the first grandmother to also be a medical student there, then trained in family medicine in Tuscaloosa, graduating from residency in 2007.

When it came time to open her own practice, she looked north, close to family and friends, and found land and an empty clinic just four miles and one stop sign apart.