At Vital Root Health (VRH) we understand what patients are going through as they attempt to heal from complex health problems while trying to navigate through a broken healthcare system that at times creates more problems than it fixes.
Today’s patient requires hope, optimism, and a clear path as they work to recover their health and return to normal function.
We can’t be our best self and maximize our impact on the world when we are experiencing ill-health and disease.
Therefore, our health should be our #1 priority.
For someone who is experiencing the challenges that come with being sick, this can feel like an overwhelming ideal. However, in our experience moving yourself and your health to the top of your to-do-list is very powerful and is often the catalyst to creating a transformational life-experience.
At VRH we believe that each human being is intrinsically valuable, but we also understand that not every patient who applies for care will be a good fit for our approach. We utilize a very deliberate and systematic admissions process, which allows us to select candidates that have the best opportunity to experience a positive outcome.
This admissions process is first focused on whether the prospective patient has a condition we can successfully treat. Next, we focus on whether they possess qualities that would make them a good overall fit. Some of those qualities include health being the #1 priority, being motivated to get better, having a great support system, and a pleasant and optimistic attitude.
Discover if You’re a Good Candidate
Dr. Phillip Redd DO
Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine
Born, raised, and loving living in Idaho, I am Dr. Phillip Redd, DO.
As an osteopathic physician with post-doctoral training in functional medicine, functional endocrinology and clinical nutrition, and unlike most DO’s and even other integrative providers, I take a ‘functional’ approach to treating my patients. And through my extensive diagnostic and root-cause analysis and holistic treatments, my patients get results. I specialize in and successfully treat Autoimmune issues, most notably Thyroid and Hashimoto’s Disease and Type II Diabetes, as well as many other difficult to treat conditions.
My training in functional medicine has helped me emerge from that “sick-care” or “pill for an ill” model to develop a process to successfully treat other conditions as well, including chronic fatigue and insomnia; weight-loss resistance; brain fog and mental health disorders; parasites, candida, leaky gut, and other intestinal disorders; hypertension; and chronic back and joint pain and arthritis, to name a few.
Consider this: When people can improve their cognitive function, decrease their blood sugars to optimal levels and have more energy, finally release stubborn weight, get rid of joint pain and arthritis, get rid of neuropathy, and have restorative sleep again, this is what functional medicine is all about!
As a DO I have worked in military and traditional healthcare/hospital settings where I have witnessed the pain, frustration and suffering of so many individuals with chronic disease conditions. I also have experienced first-hand the devastation that individuals and their families go through with Autoimmune Thyroid and other autoimmune diseases, Alzheimer’s and dementia, and Type II Diabetes with its many complications.
I am constantly approached by individuals who are discouraged and frustrated with “health care” and not being listened to. People have told me they have been scolded and laughed out of doctor’s offices. Others are told it’s just a psychological problem and are given a pill. I call this “sick-care.” It really comes down to this – most “health care” providers are ill-equipped to help patients actually find health, as they aren’t trained and don’t know how to help or empower them.
At Vital Root Health, my team and I utilize this functional medicine approach to customize treatment for each individual’s condition. We recognize the absolute necessity to get the right tests in order to find and address the root causes and remove irritants from the body. When we address each and all of an individual’s root causes and immune triggers simultaneously, using my multi-therapeutic approach, our patients have a high rate of success reaching their health goals and overcoming even autoimmune disease and diabetes.
The treatment success we enjoy in our clinic with these conditions happens because I choose to enroll the right patients. My blueprint is a proven part of this success and another part is that those who are admitted and enrolled into my practice have demonstrated to me that their health is actually their number-one priority. I realize that all too often they have already met with so much frustration at not being listened to, not taken seriously when letting their doctors know about their symptoms and suffering, that they are ready for something else. Many have almost given up hope of recovering their health. Many don’t even realize these conditions don’t have to be lifelong! Some desperately need my help to realize their health should be their top-priority above everything else, and when people reach this turning point in their life, they will do everything it takes to get well.
My process offers new hope for a better life and a bright future.
You still have the power to heal!
Dr. Catherine (Cate) Cummings, DC, FNP, LAc, IFMCP, ReCODE 2.0 CP
Family Nurse Practitioner, Chiropractor, Licensed Acupuncturist, Functional Medicine Practitioner, and ReCODE 2.0 Practitioner
Throughout her life Cate has been very interested in nature and has always been a lifelong animal lover with a long history of raising and caring for animals including goats, sheep, pigs, cows, chickens, dogs, and cats. While in Texas, she began a family farm business raising grassfed lamb, beef, and pork for the local community. She holds a special place in her heart for her two horses who were born on her Texas ranch, and who are now enjoying their Idaho life with mountain views. She and Ron currently raise Nubian goats, and she is very proud and thankful for their courageous Akbash livestock guardian dogs who fearlessly protect everyone on their Idaho ranch.
While living in Virginia, Cate became a serious gardener (veggies, flowers, and a small orchard) which became another great love of hers. Texas also proved to be a fantastic year-round gardening experience, and now in Idaho, she is learning how to garden at a much higher elevation. Her first Idaho garden was this year and it turned out very well due to the naturally fertile soil, clean air, and abundant clean water.
Cate has always been interested in learning how to help all living things stay healthy (the soil, plants, animals, and people). She was an avid student of human health from an early age and was very fortunate to study human health from multiple perspectives (traditional western medicine, oriental medicine, and chiropractic). When living on her Texas ranch, she learned first-hand the interconnectedness of all living things – from the soil microbes to the health of the plants, the animals and people, and how to support the entire ecosystem.
Cate is honored to be a part of Vital Root Health because she knows that Dr. Redd and his team are devoted to empowering people through very personalized functional medicine care, to discover the fundamental reasons for their health situation, and also provide a clear supportive path forward to make the needed changes, so that they can indeed live the life of optimal health that they are hoping to achieve.
Dr. Koi Ibrahim, DC, MS, FMCP
Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner, board-certified Doctor of Chiropractic
Dr. Koi Ibrahim, DC, MS is a Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner, board-certified Doctor of Chiropractic. His professional mission is “to help build an improved mind and body partnership in people of all ages through the application of holistic, evidence-based wellness principles”.
Dr. Koi Ibrahim earned a Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Sherman College of Chiropractic in Spartanburg, SC. He also holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Exercise Science with a concentration in Health and Fitness from East Carolina University, and a Masters of Science degree in Exercise Science with a concentration in Injury Prevention and Performance Enhancement from California University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Koi Ibrahim uses Functional Medicine as a holistic, patient centered healthcare tool to address underlying causes of illness, health dysfunctions, and dis-ease. As an Institute of Functional Medicine member and certified by Functional Medicine University, Dr. Koi Ibrahim analyzes an individual’s biochemical factors in order to guide his patients to a greater state of health and wellness.
Dr. Dean Patrick, DC
Doctorate in Chiropractic Medicine
Dr. Dean Patrick, DC earned his Bachelor’s degree in Biology with a minor in Chemistry from the University of Findlay before attending National University of Health Sciences, where he received his Doctorate in Chiropractic Medicine. Following graduation, he opened and operated his own clinic, where he practiced chiropractic medicine and acupuncture while pursuing advanced post-graduate studies through the College of Integrative Medicine.
For more than 9 years, Dr. Dean has incorporated functional medicine principles into his clinical practice, with a strong focus on identifying and addressing the underlying root causes of disease rather than simply managing symptoms. He continues to pursue advanced education in nutrition, functional medicine, and holistic health, regularly attending seminars and staying current with emerging research in the field. He has trained under many of the leading voices in functional medicine and has extensive experience applying those principles in patient care.
Throughout his career, Dr. Dean has worked with a wide range of complex cases, including autoimmune, gastrointestinal, hormonal, dermatological, and neurological conditions. He is especially passionate about helping patients uncover the missing pieces behind chronic illness and guiding them through a personalized path toward healing.
Dr. Dean believes the body was designed to heal when underlying imbalances and barriers to health are properly identified and addressed. He is honored to be part of the Vital Root Health team, working alongside like-minded providers dedicated to delivering high-quality, individualized care
Amanda L. Zimcosky, PA-C, AFMCP
Certified Physician Assistant, and ADAPT Functional Medicine Practitioner
Amanda grew up in western Pennsylvania where she practiced traditional hunter-gathering techniques with her father and family. She quickly found a love for nature and the outdoors while archery hunting and wild food gathering with her father. She always had a passion for sports and nutrition and studied Natural Sciences in undergraduate school at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
She pursued her Master’s in Physician Assistant Studies at the University of Mount Union in Northeast Ohio where she met her husband. She moved to Northeast Ohio and started her career in Emergency Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. Despite early successes in her career she realized conventional medicine was not addressing the fundamentals for optimal health and healing. She needed a field of medicine that better aligned with her values. She completed formal functional medicine training through IFM (Institute for Functional Medicine) and completed the ADAPT Functional Medicine Practitioner training course before beginning her career as an integrative/functional medicine practitioner.
Amanda understands first hand how stressors, both internal and external, affect one's whole health and has successfully applied proper nutrition, activity, mindfulness, and natural medicines to realign her body’s natural vital state. Amanda shares a deep passion for educating patients on functional medicine techniques and how to embrace a lifestyle that will propagate vital healthy living for oneself and their families.
In her free time Amanda enjoys exercising, hiking, hunting, fly fishing, gardening, reading with her husband and two pups (Lola and Chuck), and nurturing time with family and friends.
Delaney Schick, FNP-C
Family Nurse Practitioner
Delaney Schick, FNP-C, is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner with a passion for prevention, lifestyle medicine, and root-cause healthcare. She believes patients deserve to feel heard, understood, and empowered throughout their healing journey, and she is dedicated to helping individuals uncover the underlying causes of their symptoms rather than simply masking them with medications.
She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga before completing her Master of Science in Nursing at Carson-Newman University. She has also completed formal functional medicine training through the Institute for Functional Medicine.
Delaney began her nursing career in critical care, caring for acutely ill patients in high-intensity hospital settings. While she valued the fast-paced environment and advanced clinical experience that critical care provided, she became increasingly aware of the limitations of conventional medicine in addressing the root causes of chronic disease and supporting long-term wellness. Experiencing burnout within the traditional healthcare system ultimately led her to discover functional medicine—an approach that completely transformed the way she viewed health and healing. Having personally navigated her own chronic health challenges, Delaney experienced firsthand how functional medicine can help uncover underlying imbalances and support meaningful, lasting healing. This experience deepened her passion for helping patients find answers and feel their best. Over the past few years, she has immersed herself in functional and integrative medicine, focusing on identifying and addressing the underlying drivers of symptoms rather than simply managing disease.
Delaney is especially passionate about helping patients optimize their health through individualized care plans centered around nutrition, movement, sleep, stress management, and metabolic wellness. She strives to create a collaborative approach to care that empowers patients to take an active role in their health while building sustainable habits that support long-term well-being. Her clinical approach combines evidence-based medicine with a root-cause philosophy, allowing her to bridge her traditional medical background with a more comprehensive, preventative model of care.
Outside of practice, Delaney enjoys yoga and cycling, cooking, traveling and experiencing new cultures, and spending time near any body of water. She is married, and she and her husband, Reed, have a labradoodle named Penny Lane. Originally from East Tennessee, she now resides in New York City.
Brittany Ibrahim, PT, MBA
Certified Health Coach, Vital Root Health Admissions Advisor
Brittany Ibrahim is a proud Florida native, deeply rooted in the warm, vibrant climate that has shaped her personal and professional life. Growing up surrounded by the sunshine and coastal breezes of Florida, she developed a lifelong appreciation for the outdoors and the balance of mind-body wellness that a healthy lifestyle brings. This connection to the Florida way of life fuels her commitment to helping others achieve their best selves, both physically and emotionally.
From a young age, Brittany knew she wanted to make a difference in the lives of others, and this passion for service led her down the path of healthcare. She earned her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Florida International University, where she gained a comprehensive understanding of how physical limitations, injuries, and dysfunctions can significantly impact an individual’s quality of life. Over the years, she has worked with a variety of patients, creating tailored treatment plans that help them not just recover, but thrive. Her holistic approach to healing is centered on improving both physical and mental well-being, empowering her patients to live fuller, more active lives.
Beyond her physical therapy expertise, Brittany has a MBA and is also a certified health coach with a unique ability to assess and understand the goals, motivations, and obstacles of her clients. Her coaching philosophy goes beyond just the “how” of achieving goals—it’s about diving deep into the “why” behind them. She works with individuals to build lasting habits and sustainable wellness routines that align with their values and long-term aspirations.
Brittany's passion for health and wellness extends beyond her own practice. Over the years, she’s witnessed firsthand the incredible impact of functional medicine—not just in her professional life, but within her own family as well.
This personal connection to functional medicine has fueled her desire to help women, especially mothers, prioritize their own well-being. She believes in the power of functional medicine to offer personalized, holistic health solutions that address root causes rather than just symptoms. Her mission is to guide women to say “yes” to themselves and take control of their health in ways that nourish both their bodies and their spirits.
In addition to her professional life, Brittany is a devoted wife and mother of two beautiful daughters. She is married to Dr. Koi Ibrahim, a skilled functional medicine practitioner. As a family, they are passionate about traveling, attending concerts, and staying involved in their local church. They believe in living a life of service and giving back to their community in meaningful ways.
With a career and a life that blends service, health, and family, Brittany’s purpose is clear: to help others live empowered, vibrant lives. Her values and wisdom gained from her own experiences with functional medicine, she is committed to supporting individuals as they discover the best versions of themselves.
Erika Taylor, RN
Vital Root Health Admissions Advisor
Erika Taylor brings over 20 years of diverse clinical experience to the Vital Root Health team, spanning 13 years as a paramedic, six years as an ER nurse—including three years of travel nursing during COVID—and two years as a float pool nurse across multiple specialties, including critical care.
When she isn't working with patients, Erika enjoys traveling, exploring new cultures, and trying new foods. She splits her time between Savannah, Georgia, and Guanajuato City, located in central Mexico, where she lives with her wife, Lea, and their cat, Riley.
Having seen the limitations of traditional, reactive healthcare firsthand, Erika shifted her focus toward functional medicine to better address the root causes of health issues rather than just managing symptoms. She is passionate about helping patients move beyond crisis management to pursue genuine, long-term wellness and is thrilled to be part of the Vital Root Health team.
Kristen Kummer
Certified Health & Wellness Coach
Kristen is a certified health and wellness coach specializing in functional and holistic health, with a lifelong and heartfelt passion for helping others heal mentally, physically, and emotionally all while helping them feeling heard, understood, and cared for. Kristen brings a diverse and empathetic background to her work. She studied nursing, cosmetology, and worked in early childhood education. Kristen is certified in various areas of health and wellness including, Health coaching, breath work and guided meditation. She is also a certified EFT and Medical Intuitive Practitioner. Kristen makes expanding upon her knowledge, education, and ability to help patients uncover the hidden roots of their health challenges a focal point of her growth. She has long understood the beautiful connection between the way people feel on the inside and the results they achieve in their lives. She believes that every illness, imbalance, and disease carries both a physical and emotional root, and that true, lasting healing requires us to address both.
Her journey into health and wellness is one of resilience, hope, and transformation. After attending nursing school, Kristen’s path took a pivotal turn when her children were diagnosed with autoimmune illnesses at very young ages. Rather than accepting defeat, she channeled that experience into a determination to find answers, becoming a passionate advocate for both her and her children’s health and wellbeing. Her nursing and educational training combined with learning to care for her children’s needs led her to work in an Elementary school setting, caring for children with medical needs and disabilities. This is where her passion in caring for others began to flourish.
Kristen later faced her own significant health challenges, battling cancer and autoimmune diseases that required surgeries and hospitalizations and time in the ICU; she fought for her life more than once. Having navigated a difficult childhood, Kristen came to deeply understand the powerful connection between our past and our physical health. She discovered how subconscious patterns created by these events can impact our daily lives, and more importantly, found that how we speak to ourselves can be truly transformative in our healing journey. These experiences ignited a profound passion for healing that has gone beyond conventional medicine. She trusted that there were deeper answers to be found and believed there were more natural, empowering paths to take. That determination only strengthened her resolve to find a better way and she did. While medications have their place, she firmly believes that true healing comes from addressing root causes rather than managing symptoms.
Her turning point came when she discovered the work of Dr. Redd, whose approach to functional medicine helped her go from bedridden and fighting for her life to living her greatest dreams and now joyfully empowering others to do the same. She is grateful to be working with Dr Redd and his amazing team at Vital Root Health. Their practices allow her to continue assisting patients in finding their worth, and taking their lives and health back, all the while she continues to do the same for both herself and her family. She believes wholeheartedly that healing is possible for everyone and that the journey begins with believing in yourself and your ability to heal. She knows firsthand that the human body has an incredible capacity to heal when given the right tools, support, and mindset. Above all, Kristen believes that healing is not just possible, it is your birthright! You are worthy of all of life’s greatest blessings, most importantly, you are worthy of healing. It’s never too late, you’re never too old, you’re never too far gone.
Kristen now resides in beautiful, sunny Arizona where she loves to relax pool side, spend quality time with her husband and 3 grown daughters, going on vacations and exploring new places, connecting with nature, meditating, crafting, dancing around the house with some good music or throwing a great party. She lives life with the same joy, passion, and intention that she brings to everything she does and can’t wait to help her next patient reclaim their life and health.
Elizabeth (Libby) Franklin
Health & Wellness Coach
Born and raised in Grand Forks, North Dakota, my journey has taken me through Texas and Montana before finding my home here in Idaho — and every step of the way, health has been at the center of my story. From childhood, I battled asthma, allergies, and a growing list of health challenges, spending years on medications that never quite solved the problem. It was my grandmother who first showed me there was another way. A firm believer in natural medicine, she became my earliest and most influential guide into the world of holistic health — and her wisdom planted a seed in me that has only grown stronger with time.
I’ve carried a deep desire to help people for as long as I can remember. That calling led me through a rewarding career in the beauty industry, where I became double licensed and had the great fortune of learning from instructors who were deeply passionate about health and nutrition. They reignited something in me I hadn’t realized I’d lost. When I later pursued a business degree, I filled every elective slot I could with health and nutrition coursework — and that’s when my passion for this field truly took over.
My path to functional medicine wasn’t just academic — it was personal. Battling multiple autoimmune conditions and repeatedly being told by conventional doctors that nothing was wrong, I took my health into my own hands. I dove deep into functional medicine, researching, learning, and experimenting with what could actually move the needle. It wasn’t until I found Dr. Redd and his team, however, that I truly experienced the results I had been searching for — and that changed everything. That journey was hard, but it gave me something invaluable: real, lived experience that I now bring to every patient I work with.
Today, I am grateful every day to do work that genuinely matters. I am passionate about mindset, nutrition, and the incredible capacity the body has to heal when given the right support. My own winding road — from a sick little girl in North Dakota to a health coach in functional medicine — is what drives me to show up fully for every patient I have the privilege of working with. No matter where you are in the country, I look forward to connecting with you and being a part of your journey back to health.
Julie Cummings
Health & Wellness Coach
For decades, I believed that living exhausted, overwhelmed, and in a constant state of survival was simply my normal.
My journey into health coaching began with my own lived experience. I was born in Dubuque, Iowa, where my early years were happy and healthy. It was the 1970s, and I spent my childhood playing outside from the crack of dawn until the streetlights came on. But everything shifted overnight when my mother was hit by a drunk driver and left severely brain-damaged. Life as I knew it changed forever.
My nervous system learned to live on high alert. By my teenage years, I was already battling severe sleep deprivation and chronic stress. For a long time, I simply pushed through the overwhelm. I built a demanding career, earned my MBA, and navigated high-level Human Resources roles within the federal government and NASA.
But our bodies keep score.
Eventually, the compounding toll of a high-pressure career and motherhood—including raising a beautiful autistic child—caught up with me. The traditional Western medicine system left me feeling unheard, frustrated, and facing costly dead ends. I ultimately chose to step away from my career to focus on my family and try to piece my own health back together.
The turning point came when I discovered functional medicine and Dr. Redd. For the first time, someone looked at my whole story. Dr. Redd recognized the deep roots of my physical symptoms and recommended I see an EMDR therapist immediately. Processing decades of trauma through EMDR gave me profound mental strength so I could better focus on my health. Dr. Redd diagnosed me with Hashimoto's, and now I could tackle more root causes. By addressing that deep-rooted stress and finally uncovering the right answers for my body, my life completely transformed. Today, I can honestly say I have never felt this well.
Having spent my entire career in human resources and customer service, my passion has always been helping people. Now, as a health coach working directly alongside Dr. Redd, I use my personal victory over Hashimoto’s and chronic trauma to guide other women out of the dark. You do not have to settle for just getting by. I am here to help you advocate for your health, understand your body, and reclaim your vitality.
Emmelyn (Emmy) Redd
Health & Wellness Coach
Emmy was born in Utah, grew up in the military (Air Force) and now loves living in Idaho with her family. She has witnessed her dad (Dr. Phillip Redd, DO) change thousands of people’s lives through the functional work that he does, and has had her own life changed through implementing what he teaches. She sees the frustration and harm that mainstream medicine has often caused and loves taking part in teaching others that their bodies are incredible mechanisms shaped and gifted by God that can heal themselves when given proper care through functional medicine.
Emmy pursued a bachelor’s degree in film and media arts at the University of Utah, and experienced health problems including fatigue, poor immune function, and painful acne throughout her high school. Serums and creams had little to no effect, and the acne would continue coming back. After she began implementing the lifestyle changes her father teaches, the spots and sores finally healed and didn't come back.
In addition, Emmy discovered the freedom of having higher energy and stamina throughout the day, improved memory, less brain fog, reduced hair loss, succumbing to illness less frequently, and even shedding a few unexpected lbs, which have stayed off years since.
Emmy has been an integral part of Vital Root Health in many roles, including media editor, graphic designer, and assisting with masterclasses. But she is thrilled to be a health coach, and is blessed to be able to work directly with patients, helping fulfill Dr. Redd’s mission of changing the face of healthcare. She feels incredibly blessed to be able to learn by witnessing her dad’s healing work what the health and food industries won’t teach the general population.
Alongside health and wellness, Emmy has a commissioned art business as a painter and graphic artist. She is a singer and pianist, and she has a love for gardening, reading, skiing, being in nature, learning herbal medicine, and spending time with her hand-raised parakeets (Riku, Ducky, Tiana, Prince Naveen, and Buckbeak).
We understand that investing in your health is a meaningful decision, and finances can be an important part of that conversation. To help make care more accessible, Vital Root Health offers various payment plan options. Applying is simple, uses a soft credit check that does not impact your credit score, and allows you to review available options before making a decision. Click below to get started.
Various payment options will also be discussed during your consultation.