Looking to improve your health? Learn more about our Truckee, CA team.
Dr. Aaron Stutz, MD FAAEM
Aaron is a board-certified emergency physician who has been working independently in emergency departments in California and Nevada since 2013. In 2014 he co-founded Mountain Medics Inc., which subsequently grew into the nation’s most successful wildland firefighting medicine and ambulance service. Mountain Medics’ current clients include the US Forest Service, California Department of Fire, Oregon Department of Fire, and Pacific Gas and Electric.
Aaron has a special interest in emerging pain and depression treatments and has been using ketamine in emergency department settings for 10 years. Aaron will serve as the chief executive officer in this new clinic endeavor, as well as the primary medical officer responsible for creating medical protocols and for staffing the clinic.
Cody Sims, MS, PA-C
Cody Sims is an emergency department physician assistant with 10 yrs of experience in many different styles of practice and patient demographics, from community hospitals to large metro ERs all over California. As a National Geographic Explorer, he treated Meakambut tribal natives in the remote Karawari Sepik River Basin of Papua New Guinea, featured in the Last of the Cave People. Prior to becoming a PA in New York City, Cody worked as an EMT paramedic in underserved populations in Bronx NY.
Outside of medicine, Cody has been an international rock climbing guide for more than 20 years, leading expeditions in Alaska, the European Alps, Mexico, and more. Cody has a broad and empathic approach to medicine, health and wellness. In his quest to tackle difficult and intimidating problems, he’s internalized that every person has a unique role to play in our abundance as a community.
Dr. Charles I. Flores, LPCC, LAADC-S, MAC
Dr. Charles Flores LPCC, LAADC-S is a California licensed and nationally certified psychotherapist, and a state and internationally certified advanced drug and alcohol counselor who has practiced in multiple settings in the field of co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders for over 25 years. He has directed several multi-million dollar substance abuse and mental health treatment programs in the Bay Area. He currently provides ketamine assisted integration psychotherapy for a clinic in Northern California.
He is the Psychedelics and Addictions Fellow for the CIIS Center for Psychedelic Therapies and Research. He is also professor of Chemical Dependency Studies at California State University, East Bay and has taught psychology at John F. Kennedy University and several other universities for the past 15 years. Dr. Flores is a Board Director of the California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals, where he serves on the Executive and Legislative Committees.
Dr. Flores obtained his BA from Vassar College in International Studies and Philosophy, his MS in Counseling Psychology at Fordham University, and gained additional training and certifications in Family Counseling in Iona College, the Ackerman Institute, Gestalt Associates, Nalanda Institute for Contemplative Science, Sophia University, and his Ph.D. at the California Institute of Integral Studies in multicultural, humanistic, and spiritual psychology. He has published and presented on the topic of Integral Psychology and somatic psychology in conferences in the US, Europe, and India.
Originally hailing from the South Bronx, Dr. Flores has had a long-standing passion for harm-reduction Recovery from substance mis-use, and the use of technology and meditation and other spiritual practice to support individual and societal change. He is excited about the prospects for the use of psychedelic therapies for mental health and recovery in this “psychedelic renaissance”, and directing these therapies to the underserved and traumatized populations that most need them.
Learn more about Dr. Flores at www.vitalpuma.com
Barbara Chandler, LMFT. Life Coach
Barbara is a licensed marriage and family therapist and certified life coach in Reno, NV. She has a passion for psychedelic medicine and is trained in Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy and Psychedelic Assisted Therapy. She has studied psychedelics and non-ordinary states of conciseness for most of her career and utilizes components of IFS and Mindfulness in her therapy and integration sessions. Her approach incorporates a blend of mind, body, and soul towards healing and self-discovery. She is passionate about her work and her clients. She is an avid reader and big Grateful Dead fan.
Learn more about Barbara Chandler at bchandlercounseling.com
Simon Whitton
Simon Whitton is currently a doctoral student at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) reading for his PhD in Integrative Neuroscience. His current role at the clinic is to bring an integration of methods (behavioral, experimental, and neuroimaging) to assist in our ongoing optimization of client assessment and treatment outcomes. He earned his MSc in Music, Mind & Brain from the University of London, Goldsmiths (2018) where he used Electroencephalography (EEG) to reveal the neural mechanism of how music influences our judgments of visual brightness. He currently works in the Plasticity lab at UNR. His main focus is the use of current tools in neuroscience to understand the power of neuroplasticity, the method by which the brain changes itself every day.
Sierra Campbell, RN
Sierra was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. After moving to the West in the mid-’90s, she landed in Lake Tahoe and has been connected to the Tahoe community ever since. Her passion is connected and consistent health care. As a nurse, she has enjoyed hospice care, home health, community health, and clinics. She has worked in infusion settings for the past four years in various capacities. She currently calls the West Shore of Lake Tahoe home, where she lives with her two children and enjoys all that the region has to offer.
Carrie Holloway, EMT-P
Carrie Holloway is currently in Physician Assistant School at University of Nevada, Reno, after working as a paramedic for 10 years. She has experience working in pre-hospital metropolitan emergency systems as well as the emergency department setting, most recently at Mountain View Hospital in Las Vegas, prior to coming to PA school. In the past, she has taught Wilderness First Responder and Wilderness EMT courses and has been guiding mountains professionally since 2008, with expeditions to South America, Alaska, and Nepal. Carrie is an avid rock climber who loves to explore the beautiful wildlands surrounding Lake Tahoe in her free time.
About Us
Kensho Well-being was created by a medical group of mountain enthusiasts, professional athletes, and nomadic taste-makers who believe personalized medicine is the way forward. We are an independent medical group that offers personalized intake, monitoring, bedside care, lab draws, IV vitamin infusion, and medication management at our Truckee, California location. Our office has a comfortable lounge, light snacks and drinks, and a curated line of wellness products for sale. We also have two private state-of-the-art treatment rooms furnished with T.V.’s and luxury medical chairs, in case privacy and tranquility are paramount for your treatment.
What is Kensho?
Kenshō translates roughly to “seeing one’s true nature” in the Zen tradition. Kenshō is an initial insight or awakening; it is to be followed by further training to deepen this insight, and learn to express it in daily life.
At Kensho, we help initiate personal transformation in our customers. We believe in the inextricable duality of mind and body, that physical and mental well-being are both essential to happiness.
We’re here to help set you on your path to well-being.
A Customized Approach to Well-being
Kensho IV Lounge strives to provide customized health programs for our clients. We believe taking the time to listen to each individual’s needs is as important as taking time to inform.
We’ll work with you to determine the ideal IV hydration, vitamin supplementation, longevity, weight loss, and/or performance protocol to custom tailor it for your current health situation.
First, we conduct a detailed medical evaluation anchored by a detailed lab test to get an accurate baseline. Once we have the results, we will tailor the Medical Club experience specifically to your needs and goals.
Our Philosophy
“My medical practice is centered on discovering the personalized factors that contribute to an optimized result for each of my patients. To me, the key is to look at the whole picture by taking into account each patient’s biological, nutritional, aerobic quotient, genetic predisposition, lifestyle realities, physiological, and psychological components in order to provide the best outcomes.”
Cody Sims, MS, PA-C
“I believe the patient's perspective is critical in a modern healthcare relationship. A physician may feel he is doing everything right and even may see the patient physically benefiting from the therapy—but if the patient doesn’t agree, the treatment is not entirely successful. It's the patient's belief in the therapy that is most important. Patient autonomy is one of the highest ethical principles a doctor should adhere to. However, I also believe in the power of evidence-based medicine and statistics to logically indicate which therapies best treat each patient. I base my recommendations on those principles. At Well Being IV Lounge our team is committed to making sure each patient is on the right path.”
Dr. Aaron Stutz, MD FAAEM
“Every patient deserves my time and I center each evaluation around a comprehensive intake method to determine each person’s underlying health goals, motivators, and hurdles, I can provide recommendations for custom testing and broad treatment plans that are based on evidence based medicine, cutting edge science and novel therapeutics. My goal is to provide patients with the most current medical knowledge and scientific insight to drive integrated plans and actions in order to optimize individual health.”
Cody Sims, MS, PA-C