Small Practice, Big on Quality Care

When you select a provider at Qliance, you can rest assured that you will receive the best quality primary care available. All of our physicians and nurse practitioners are board certified or eligible in their specialty (family medicine or internal medicine), and our medical assistants and nurses are fully trained and certified. Before they are hired, all Qliance providers and support staff also undergo a rigorous screening and selection process that includes verification of their training, certification and licensure, as well as background checks.

We select our healthcare providers based on their skills, training and patient-centered focus. Unlike many practices where providers are paid based on the number of patients they see or the way they bill for visits, Qliance health care professionals are motivated by a system that rewards performance based on quality of care, patient service and patient satisfaction. At Qliance, our health care providers work directly for you, our patient, to ensure that you get the best care and attention possible

Our Providers

Garrison Bliss, MD
Internal Medicine, (Practice currently closed to new patients)

Specialty: Internal Medicine
Certification: American Board of Internal Medicine
Education: University of Utah School of Medicine, MD; Harvard University, BA - Biology
Residency: University of Washington Academic Track Internal Medicine
Languages: English

Dr. Garrison Bliss is an internist with 30 years of experience as a primary care physician. He has been rated by his peers as one of the top physicians in Washington on numerous occasions.
Dr. Bliss founded Seattle Medical Associates in 1980 and is widely regarded as a pioneer in changing the way quality health care services are provided and financed. Frustrated with the poor performance and low service inherent in traditional insurance-based medicine, Dr. Bliss helped reinvent Seattle Medical in 1997 to offer high quality, patient-centered primary care services for an affordable fixed monthly fee. Qliance Medical Group is the vehicle that will take his vision for delivering the highest quality primary and preventive care to the next level, both regionally and nationally.

Dr Bliss has been active nationally in the Society for Innovative Medical Practice Design, serving tenure as President and most recently Chairman of the Board. His expertise has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Medical Economics and many other news and trade publications. He was named as one of the 25 top entrepreneurs and innovators by the Seattle Business Monthly in 2006. Dr. Bliss has been passionate about medical ethical issues for many years and has served as chairman of the King County Medical Practice and Ethics Committee, King County Grievance Committee and the Judicial Counsel of the Washington State Medical Association.

Dr. Bliss received his BA in Biology from Harvard University and his MD from the University of Utah. He completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Washington. Although Dr. Bliss’ practice is currently closed to new patients, as Chief Medical Officer for Qliance Medical Group, he consults regularly with other Qliance providers.

Susan Casabona, MD
Internal Medicine, (Qliance 2, practice open July 14, 2008)

Specialty: Internal Medicine
Certification: American Board of Internal Medicine
Education: Mt. Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA, Associate Bachelor – Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, VA, Medical Doctor ~ 1979
Residency: Providence Medical Center, Portland, OR
Language: English

Dr. Casabona's bio will be added shortly...

Lili Sacks, MD
Internal Medicine, (Qliance 2, practice open August 1, 2008)

Specialty: Internal Medicine
Certification: American Board of Internal Medicine
Education: University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, Bachelor of Arts, with Highest Honors – University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, Medical Doctor ~ 1990
Residency: University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Language: English 

Dr. Sacks' bio will be added shortly...

Tracy Agee, ARNP
Adult Medicine, (Qliance 1, practice open)

Specialty: Adult Medicine
Certification: American Nurses Credentialing Center, Board Certified Adult Nurse Practitioner
Education: Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, BSN, MSN; Mills College, BA - Liberal Studies, Pre-Med
Language: English

Tracy Agee was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and raised in Sacramento, California. She attended Mills College in Oakland, and worked for several years in community health serving those struggling with addiction and mental illness, as well as in HIV prevention and epidemiology at UCSF. These experiences inspired her to further her career in health care, and she subsequently attended The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland for her Nurse Practitioner training. After graduation, she worked for Johns Hopkins in HIV care and research.

Tracy is passionate about the provision of high quality care to those with chronic illnesses. She recognizes the impact of even transient illness on nearly every aspect of life, as well as the beneficial effect of health on the individual and the well being of their families and communities. Tracy focuses her efforts on preventing illness by partnering with her patients and, together, creating achievable steps to meet long-term health related goals. Her research interests have focused on adherence to complex medical regimens as well as interventions to create and sustain healthy choices. She also has an interest in general infectious disease, women’s health, and the optimal provision of care to those in the LGBT community.

Tracy is thrilled to be a part of Qliance’ visionary work in changing the way health care is provided. She and her husband Lewis and their dog Maya are new to Seattle and already feel as though they have lived here for years. Tracy’s personal interests include outdoor activities, social justice, gourmet cooking and a good mystery novel.

Erika Bliss, MD, FAAFP 
Family Medicine, (Qliance 1, practice open)

Specialty: Family Medicine
Certification: American Board of Family Medicine
Education: University of California at San Diego-School of Medicine, MD; Stanford University, MA-Latin American Studies; San Francisco State University, BA-History
Residency: Swedish Family Medicine Residency Program, Seattle, WA
Language: English, Spanish

Dr. Erika Bliss is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. She received her undergraduate degree in history from San Francisco State University and a Master’s degree in Latin American Studies from Stanford. She completed her medical training at the Swedish Family Medicine Residency Program in Seattle in 2003. She worked briefly for the Community Health Centers of King County before accepting a permanent position at Carolyn Downs Family Medical Center in Seattle, where she served as a staff physician, Clinical Site Director, and Director of Clinical Quality.

Dr. Bliss has traveled extensively in Mexico and Central America. There she collaborated with a local women’s health and human rights group to do research, including a video project, on domestic violence. In addition, she developed and implemented a medical education exchange program with a rural hospital in Honduras. While in medical school, Dr. Bliss aided in the establishment of the Free Clinic Project of San Diego, which allows medical students to oversee the care of homeless and indigent people.

Not only has Dr. Bliss focused on direct patient care, she has also been involved in organized medicine and health policy through her work with the American Academy of Family Physicians Additionally, she has served on a task force for the Future of Family Medicine Project, a national effort to chart the direction of Family Medicine for future decades.

Dr. Bliss is delighted to be a part of the Qliance team and looks forward to providing personalized, high quality and convenient care to the people of Seattle. Her special interests include chronic disease management, care of children, geriatric medicine and mental health issues. Dr. Bliss feels that building relationships that empower patients to take charge of their health is the most important part of her work, and has a particular interest in studying and working on communications between healthcare providers and their patients.

Dr. Bliss lives in Beacon Hill and, in her spare time likes to hike with her dog Chula, play the piano, garden, read, and take in the many movies and cultural events in Seattle.

Cate Withrow
ARNP Family Medicine, (Qliance 1, practice open)

Specialty: Family Medicine
Certification: American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification for Family Practice
Education: Seattle University, MSN; University of Colorado, BA - Biology
Language: English

Cate grew up in Fort Collins, Colorado and graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder. With a degree in biology and desire to enter the health care field, she went to work for Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains. There, she provided direct patient care through health education and clinical services. With a desire to assist patients to make lasting health changes, Cate went on to further her education and become a Nurse Practitioner. She graduated with a Master in Science of Nursing from Seattle University in August 2004. Her specialty is Family Practice.

After graduation, Cate moved to Kodiak, Alaska to practice full spectrum family medicine in a rural and remote area. In that setting she was able to provide comprehensive primary health care as part of a small community. This experience reinforced her belief that health care encompasses the whole person and treats illness within the family and community context. Within family practice, Cate particularly enjoys adolescent medicine, women’s health, disease prevention and health education.

Cate is very excited about the opportunity to practice at Qliance, where she looks forward to having the time to get to know her patients, their health concerns and their families. She is committed to helping her patients make lasting health changes and to working to improve the overall health of not only the individual, but also of the community.

In her free time, Cate enjoys being outside running, cycling, and hiking with her husband Rick and their black lab Sadie.

Melissa Wolin, MD
Family Medicine, (Qliance 1, practice open)

Specialty: Family Medicine
Certification: American Board of Family Medicine
Education: University of Missouri - Kansas City School of Medicine, MD; University of Missouri, BA - Biology
Residency: New Mexico Health Sciences - University of Albuquerque
Language: English

Melissa Wolin is a native of St. Louis, Missouri. She received her medical degree at the University of Missouri, Kansas City School of Medicine, and completed residency training in Family Medicine at the New Mexico Health Sciences University in Albuquerque. She obtained further expertise in rural health and high-risk obstetrics through the Rural Family Medicine Fellowship at Tacoma General Hospital. After completing her fellowship, Dr. Wolin practiced full spectrum family medicine as the only full-time physician in Shingletown, a small, rural community 30 miles east of Redding, California. She recently relocated to Seattle to be closer to family and to have greater access to the variety of restaurants and culture of the area.

Dr. Wolin chose the specialty of Family Medicine so she could care for patients throughout their entire life cycle, from newborns to grandparents. She has a particular interest in women’s health, travel medicine and patient education. She has also made several trips to Africa and Guatemala to do volunteer medical work and enjoys treating patients from diverse backgrounds.

Dr. Wolin is excited to continue to serve her community by bringing a new healthcare choice to the people of Seattle. She looks forward to creating a trusting relationship with her patients by offering exceptional, compassionate care to those who are seeking an alternative to the traditional insurance-based care model. In her spare time, she is looking forward to continuing her yoga practice, developing her gardening skills, rollerblading, and exploring Seattle’s outdoor beauty through hiking and cross-country skiing.