Dr. Mickey Barber
Chief Executive Officer/Chief Medical Officer
Dr Michale Barber began her medical career as a board certified anesthesiologist with special training in High Risk Obstetrical Anesthesia. After several years of a successful academic and private practice, life changed over a period of several months. Dr Barber became quite ill and was unable to practice medicine. Her medical journey as a patient rather than a doctor then began. After consulting numerous experts at top medical hospitals across the country, and being unable to work due to her symptoms, and frustrated with the conventional therapies prescribed to her, Dr. Barber began a quest to uncover etiologies and treatments for her own illness. Her medical journey and recovery resulted in Dr. Barber becoming certified in Age Management Medicine and Cenegenics and over two decades as a pioneer in this field, she has been a featured speaker, contributor and medical expert in prevention, anti-aging and wellness. She is the owner and CMO of Better Life Carolinas LLC with offices in Charleston and Charlotte. She lives on the Isle of Palms in South Carolina and does her best to approach aging from a proactive viewpoint and “fight it every step of the way.”
Dr. Ryan Smith
Age Management Physician
Medical Director of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Dr. Ryan Smith joined Better Life Carolinas in August 2022. Originally hailing from the Atlanta area, he attended Emory University. He spent nearly a decade in Minnesota attending medical school and completing his residency at the Mayo Clinic. After completing training in anesthesiology, he and his family moved to Myrtle Beach, SC, where he practiced for 15 years. Having been a longtime patient of Dr. Barber’s himself, he discovered an interest in age-management medicine that ultimately led to a career change in 2022. Dr. Smith has received advanced training in age-management medicine through the Age Management Medicine Group, in genomic interpretation through IntellxxDNA, and certification in hyperbaric oxygen therapy through the International Board of Undersea Medicine. He currently acts as the medical director for the hyperbaric oxygen therapy unit at Better Life, and he devotes a large part of his practice to the clinical interpretation of genomic studies.
Stacy Krause, MSN, ARNP
Nurse Practitioner
Stacy Krause completed her Master’s degree as an advanced practice nurse at the University of Miami and has gained a wide range of medical knowledge from her years serving as a medical provider in emergency medicine as well as aesthetics/wellness. Stacy moved to Charlotte from Boca Raton, Florida in 2016, bringing with her a genuine passion for helping others achieve their health goals. After years of working in traditional disease and doctor-oriented practices and hospitals, Stacy has discovered that the key to illness prevention often lies in identifying underlying imbalances as the root cause. Using a total health and patient-centered approach, her goal is to help patients experience improved everyday life and overall increased wellness. Stacy lives with her husband and two children in Matthews. They also own and operate a salt spa in Charlotte, aiming to help others improve their allergies and respiratory ailments. In her free time, Stacy enjoys playing the cello, making soaps from scratch, listening to music, cooking and most of all, spending time with her family. Those who know Stacy best describe her as avid about nutrition, exercise and balancing the mind and body.
Dr. David Geier
Dr. David Geier is a double-board certified orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist starting an integrative sports medicine practice at Better Life Carolinas! Dr. Geier completed medical school at the Medical University of South Carolina, a general surgery internship at The University of Tennessee, his orthopedic surgery residency at the world-renowned Campbell Clinic, and an orthopedic sports medicine fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis. He previously served as Director of Sports Medicine at both MUSC and East Cooper Regional Medical Center. You also see him every night on ABC News 4 and FOX 24, providing health information as their medical expert, and read his regular columns in The Post and Courier. Dr. Geier has helped numerous professional, college, and high school athletes as well as high-level adult athletes and active people of all ages. Dr. Geier aims to help athletes and active people feel and perform their best regardless of age, injury, or medical conditions. In this new medical practice, he is excited to add cutting edge treatments and regenerative/biologic procedures to treat joint pain, osteoarthritis, and other musculoskeletal conditions without surgery.
Tammy Stuppnig
Patient Development Specialist
At Better Life Carolinas, Tammy works closely with potential patients to guide and direct them on how our Better Life team can assist with their journey. Prior to working with the team at Better Life Carolinas, Tammy applied her abilities as a motivational speaker and healthcare advocate for a large chain of fitness centers in the Charlotte area. Her passion for helping others achieve optimum health is what led her to join the Better Life Carolinas team. She truly enjoys assisting others on their journey to reach and exceed their goals. Tammy developed her passion for fitness at a young age when she realized how important a healthy lifestyle was to a long, happy, and productive life. Her desire to continuously learn and grow in this area has transformed into a passion to help others on their journey to better health. She is thrilled to be working with the team at Better Life Carolinas where the health and wellness of others is our primary concern. Tammy is married to Karl Stuppnig and has one son, Brandon. After traveling much of the US while growing up, she settled in Charlotte, NC area where she has lived since 2000. In her free time, she enjoys camping, hiking, making jewelry, fashion, music, and spending time with family and friends. Age Management Medicine allows her to combine her unique interests and training to empower her patients to live vigorous, healthy lives at any age.
Katrina Breece, MS, NASM
Exercise & Lifestyle Specialist
Liz DeChenne, RN
Certified Aesthetic Nurse
Rick Foreman, CPhT
Compounding Pharmacy Technician
Todd Fox
Exercise & Lifestyle Specialist, Director of Clinical Operations
Caroline Schooler, RPhT
Dispensary Technician
Lindsay Segal, RPHT, MHA
Practice Administrator, Head of Business Development
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The Better Resource
In the age of self-diagnosis from internet medical journals, our videos offer only the finest information. Check out these helpful videos, curated by our Better Life team.
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