Meet our Medical Staff
Patients love our team approach in which they are assigned a team of both a primary care physician and a primary care nurse practitioner. Both primary care professions emphasize the importance of prevention and overall wellness, each with a unique approach. Physician training tends to focus on differential diagnosis and medical management, especially for complex conditions. Nurse practitioner training tends to emphasize a more holistic, behavioral approach to the patient’s care. At Qliance, the providers work together in a collaborative partnership with the patient that offers an excellent solution for comprehensive primary and preventive care.
We want you to feel at home when you come to Qliance. When you become a Qliance patient, you can request to work with a specific healthcare team if that team has capacity. Each of our healthcare teams, including those on-call for after hours, have electronic access to your medical records so you can find help whenever you need it.
Tracy A. Agee, Adult Nurse Practitioner
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 diseases, women’s health, and the optimal provision of care to those in the LGBT community.
Tracy is thrilled to be a part of Qliance’s 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.
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
Languages: English
Erika Bliss, MD, FAAFP
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.
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.
Specialty: Family Medicine
Certification: American Board of Family Medicine
Education: University of California at San Diego School of Medicine, MD; Stanford University, MA in Latin American Studies;
San Francisco State University, BA in History
Languages: English, Spanish
Rick Morgan, MD
Dr. Rick Morgan grew up in Colorado, graduating high school in Fort Collins and obtaining a B.A. in Geography from University of Colorado at Boulder. His medical degree is from the University of Colorado Health Sciences in Denver. After finishing his medical training at Swedish Family Medicine Residency, Dr. Morgan and his wife moved to Kodiak, Alaska where he practiced full-spectrum family medicine including obstetrics and emergency medicine. He also served as the medical director of the Kodiak Community Health Center.
Dr. Morgan enjoys providing patient centered care to people of all ages. He values time face to face with his patients and their families, and appreciates the trust patients place in their providers. He has a special interest in pediatrics, sports medicine and injuries, treatment of skin anomalies, and chronic disease management. He is very excited to join Qliance because it is a promising new model for access to health care with the goal of removing barriers between health care providers and their patients. Dr. Morgan is energized by the ability to provide personal, convenient care to people who haven’t had that opportunity in the past, whether it is for an urgent issue or routine preventive care.
In his spare time, Dr. Morgan, his wife, and black Labrador retriever Sadie like to take in what the Pacific Northwest has to offer, whether it’s hiking or biking outdoors, or enjoying great food and entertainment with friends in the city.
Cate Withrow, Family Nurse Practitioner
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. After moving to Seattle, Cate realized that if she wanted to make lasting health changes she needed to further her education and become a Nurse Practitioner. She graduated with a Master in Science of Nursing from Seattle University specializing in 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 holistic and comprehensive health care as part of a small community. This experience reinforced her belief that health care needs to reach beyond the confines of the clinic exam room if it is to address the whole person and treat illness within the family and community context. Within family practice, Cate particularly has special interests in adolescent medicine, women’s health, disease prevention and health education.
Cate is very excited about this new 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. She also enjoys cooking, gardening, and crafting.
Specialty: Family Medicine
Certification: American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification for Family Practice
Education: Seattle University, MSN; University of Colorado, BA - Biology.
Languages: English
Melissa Wolin, MD
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, integrative 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.
Specialty: Family Medicine
Certification: American Board of Family Medicine
Education: University of Missouri - Kansas City School of Medicine, MD; University of Missouri, BA in Biology
Languages: English
