Although Janette Gray’s specialty is internal medicine, the 39-year-old doctor believes that complete health care involves much more. “Internal medicine is very traditional. It’s an illness-based approach to health care. I’m glad I had that foundation, but I realized that my medical knowledge was just a small part of what I was doing,” she says. “I’m just a small part of the big picture.”

Gray has another focus on that picture. As a medical resident, she started a fund to provide treatment for a friend diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease. Four years ago, she started the Center for Health & Wellbeing. She is medical director of the integrative practice that combines traditional western medicine with holistic and alternative care. Center staff members include chiropractors, an acupuncturist, reflexologist and yoga instructors.

The center’s corporate wellness program takes Gray and staffers to businesses where they discuss subjects such as stress and back pain. Sessions may include a chair massage.

Gray’s community involvements range from raising money for the San Diego YMCA to participating in the local AIDS Walk. She gives free classes on medical topics at the Mission Valley YMCA and Women’s Fitness World. Gray also serves on the medical advisory board of Henry’s Marketplace and has been a guest medical expert on KSDO-1130 AM.

Gray says a major benefit of her practice is giving her patients a sense of empowerment. “They come in feeling like there’s no hope. I tell them there’s a lot of hope,” says Gray. “They come in feeling like a train wreck; they leave with a plan.”

— Liz Swain