Welcome! I’m Melody Hartzler, the CEO of PharmToTable. I’m a clinical pharmacist as well with a speciality in diabetes and functional gut conditions. I am currently a Board Certified Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Specialist (BCACP), and Board Certified in Advanced Diabetes Management (BC-ADM).
I married my wonderful husband Dustin in 2007, and graduated from Ohio Northern University Raabe College of Pharmacy in 2009. Then I completed a pharmacy practice residency with emphasis in ambulatory care (primary care) at the Chalmers P. Wylie VA Ambulatory Care Center in Columbus, Ohio. Following residency training, I took a full time faculty position at Cedarville University School of Pharmacy and started a clinical practice in family medicine at the Victor J. Cassano Health Center where I practiced for 6 years.
From a practice standpoint, I have been focused on diabetes management for the majority of my career. I love helping people learn how to eat healthy and figure out what they need when diet and exercise don’t do the trick. I also have been managing other chronic disease states such as hypertension, asthma, and COPD. Most recently I have developed a passion for functional medicine. Functional medicine is treating the underlying causes of disease vs. just treating the symptoms. You can learn more about it here.
How did I get interested in functional medicine and natural approaches to chronic disease? Here is the story.
I will not ever claim that natural approaches are for every condition, in full disclosure, my job is being a medication expert. I also am a paid speaker for a few drug companies that educate other providers on their medications. I hope that I can provide a balanced view here and in my teaching. Many chronic diseases can be greatly improved by natural approaches but after a lifetime of the Standard American Diet (SAD) and a sedentary lifestyle or years of smoking, often conditions like diabetes and COPD need drug therapy. And we need providers and patients to be as educated as possible on how best to use those medications.
Our blog is intended to share what I have learned as a practitioner and on my journey as a patient. My approach is evidenced-based and my goal is to focus on healthy living through food, supplements when needed, decreasing toxin burden in our everyday lives such as using safe beauty products, as well as share about functional medicine (and some conventional) approaches to chronic disease.
We have 2 children, a 8 year old girl who is our princess and a 5 year old boy who is certainly all boy! As a family we love traveling and exploring God’s amazing creation. So you might find me sharing bits and pieces of those experiences as well!