Island Time Medical and Wellness, PLLC is a nurse practitioner-owned and operated, full-spectrum family practice that offers 24/7/365 access to your care provider for office visits, house calls, virtual, or telehealth visits, as well as unparalleled provider access via phone/text/email.
As a NC primary care provider, we do not accept insurance. Instead, we use what is called the "direct primary care" model. Direct primary care (DPC) is a movement among primary care providers in response to the current climate of artificially-inflated healthcare pricing. Most people have heard of concierge medicine, but DPC offers a solution that is affordable for everyone.
For less than the price of your cell phone bill, you can have guaranteed access to your provider, same-day or next-day appointments, and a relationship with your provider that fosters trust, communication, and teamwork. DPC enables you to communicate with your provider even when you are off the Island.
Whether you are traveling for business or at your other home, Island Time will be there for you! By not accepting insurance, we are able to lower our overhead costs from billing and administrative personnel and focus on what matters most: patient care.
She is an Adult Geriatrics nurse practitioner experienced in providing acute and primary care and chronic disease management in patients 13 years of age and older. Prior to opening Island Time Medical and Wellness, she worked with the Optum ISNP program and traveled the Southeast opening buildings and training new NPS. Before becoming a Nurse Practitioner, she worked as a critical care Registered Nurse in Neuro, General, and Surgical ICU as well as PREOP/PACU. She earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Winston Salem State University and graduated magna cum laude and her master’s in nursing (AGPCNP) from South University in Savanah, Georgia sum cum laude. A full-time resident of Bald Head Island, Lou is married to her husband, Don, and has four children and two, soon to be three grandchildren. She enjoys playing tennis and golf and can be found walking the beautiful beaches of the island with her newest family member, Maya, a mini Bernedoodle.
“My favorite part of being a nurse practitioner is the special relationships and bonds I form with my patients and their families. It is the most rewarding job on earth. Taking care of patients does not feel like work to me. Instead, caring for patients fulfills me and I feel very privileged to be an important part of so many people’s lives. When I care for my patients, I cannot help but feel like I am taking care of a member of my family. The direct primary care model allows me to take the time needed to treat each of my patients with the care, compassion, and devotion to really make a difference in improving my patients’ health.”
Lou Ann Earnhardt, MS, APRN, AGPCNP - BC
