Meet the Doctors and Staff
I was born and raised in rural Michigan, where I learned the importance of family and hard work. I was lucky to have forests, lakes, and trout streams a bike ride up the road. My mother, an operating room nurse, worked at the local community hospital for 42 years before she retired. I always loved sitting around the dinner table hearing her stories about working at the hospital, and I knew from a very young age I would someday be a doctor.
I started my higher education at Michigan State University graduating with high honors in biochemistry and went onto medical school at Wayne State University School of Medicine. During my clinical rotations I found myself drawn to Family Medicine. I enjoyed the many facets of primary care and the focus on preventing disease. I found this refreshing compared to the many other specialties that focused on detecting and treating diseases that had already harmed the patient. After graduating medical school, I headed to Sacramento California to continue my education at the UCD School of Medicine – Family Medicine Residency Program. It was not long before I fell in love with the people and the great outdoors of Northern California. My residency training proved to be a wonderful learning experience. I was honored to serve as Chief Resident and being awarded the Outstanding Resident Leadership Award of the Sacramento Chapter of the California Academy of Family Physicians.
After finishing many years of schooling and fulfilling a lifelong dream, I decided to take a less common path and hit the road as a traveling physician. For nearly three years I traveled and lived across the country, gaining experience and people skills working in many diverse medical settings. This time “on the road” was also a great opportunity to explore the United States. I finally returned back “home” to California and accepted a position with Turnure Medical Group in Rocklin California where I served for several years until the formation of Placer Private Physicians in 2014.
I truly believe it takes a happy and healthy doctor to have happy and healthy patients, and that is why I focus on nutrition, exercise, and stress reduction. Living in California allows me many opportunities to hike, backpack, and fly fish. On Christmas Day, my wonderful wife Jackie and I finished our 2020 personal challenge of 52 hikes in 52 weeks with a 17-mile hike! I also truly enjoy knowledge and learning, and I strive to keep up with the latest medical research and recommendations.
“I have never doubted my choice in becoming a doctor or choosing a career in primary care, and I am honored to serve my patients. However, I had become more and more frustrated working in the traditional private insurance model that rewards quantity over quality and devalues the time I spend with my patients. Compassionate and comprehensive primary care demands having adequate time to spend with your patients. That is why I am excited to be offering my patients direct primary care. I now have the time to focus on each individual patient and family.”
Dr. Brön Hedman
Dr. Hedman enjoys all aspects of primary care including the opportunity to focus on health and wellness and disease prevention. He is an active member of the American Society for Preventive Cardiology and completed the rigorous CMHC Foundations of Cardiometabolic Health Certificate Course. He continues to take part in educational opportunities in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease, prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol disorders, and metabolic syndrome. Dr. Hedman designs an individualized treatment program for his patients that includes nutrition, exercise / activity, stress reduction, and state of the art pharmaceutical therapies to significantly decrease the risks associated with the biggest killer of Americans – cardiometabolic disorders. Dr. Hedman understands the complexities of caring for his older patients, but he also enjoys the challenges and rewards this brings to his career. He welcomes adult patients of all ages to join his practice including senior patients and accepts Medicare insurance. Unlike the traditional medical model that focuses on treating diseases once it has damaged the body, Dr. Hedman’s main focus is to work with his patients to prevent chronic diseases altogether, and if necessary, aggressively treating established diseases early to prevent or minimize future complications.
A native of California, I studied exercise physiology and health sciences at St. Mary’s College in Moraga where I met my beautiful wife Christine. We married and moved to Omaha where we both attended Creighton; medical school and nursing school. My training in Family Medicine at the Creighton University Medical Center kept us in Omaha for 3 more years. We started our family in Omaha with two beautiful girls, Hannah and Rachel. Ultimately the pull of family and the weather proved to be too great and brought us back to the bay area for my fellowship year in Sports medicine in San Jose. After finishing the one year program, it was my wife’s turn to choose where we went. She took her dream nursing job at the UC Davis Medical Center. I worked for a few years at a practice in Rocklin, but found a better fit and joined Turnure Medical Group, where for the past 8 years I helped to build an excellent primary care practice.
Choosing to settle in the Sacramento area has been wonderful. In 2009 we decided we were not done growing our family, and chose to pursue adoption. In 2010 Sebastian and Alejandra, a sibling pair from the foster care system, were adopted into our family. Adoption has been both challenging and rewarding, often at the same time. The blessings we have been given through our professions, family and adoption, Bayside Church, and our wonderful friends are truly amazing. My family and I also love the close proximity to lakes, mountains, and outdoor activities. We realized our dream of rural living in 2008 moving out to Loomis to live on a few acres. Taking care of the property is hard, but relaxing work and I love to work outside. We have two dogs, several chickens, and a couple of goats, and I love exposing my kids to the farm life that I grew up with.
The past few years, I have seen the insurance bureaucracy get worse, the number of patients I need to see every day go up, and most importantly the time able to spend with patients go down. This trend forced me to take a long hard look at how I was spending my time….and realized most of it was not related directly to patient care. I am so excited to evolve my medical practice into this new direct care model that allows me to develop the relationships and spend the time with patients that is so necessary in primary care.
In the process, I have discovered functional medicine, which takes a different approach to the management of chronic disease. Functional medicine integrates all aspects of the patient and their environment to find the source of health problems and support the body’s natural processes for healing instead of merely trying to treat individual symptoms. The additional tools and unique evaluation associated with functional medicine fits nicely into our direct care practice model. Please join me on this journey as we redefine your healthcare together, free from the meddling of insurance companies and government regulations. I look forward to the possibilities that await us both at Placer Private Physicians.
Dr. Brown was born on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Raised by a Registered Nurse, Dr. Brown was highly influenced by her mother’s life in the medical field and always dreamed of becoming a doctor.
Dr. Brown received her Bachelor of Science and Medical Degree from the University of British Columbia. She completed her Residency at Dalhousie University, in Nova Scotia. She is Board Certified in Family Medicine in both the U.S. and Canada. She received the Nevada County “Best Of” award for Best Physician two years running.
Dr. Brown has been serving patients with a diverse array of medical needs for more than 19 years. She began her career in Vancouver, Canada and after marrying an American, and love of her life, she accepted a position in Texas as a Family Physician; this is where she and Kevin grew their family over the next six years and welcomed their three beloved children. After this season, the Browns moved to Northern California to raise their children, where the culture seemed more in line with Dr. Brown’s Canadian roots.
As a highly sought-after Nevada County physician for the past 10 years, Dr. Brown has been addressing standard patient needs in a Family Practice setting and has specific interest and expertise in women’s health issues, hormone replacement therapy, complex thyroid disease, prevention and correction of chronic disease and international travel medicine.
Dr. Brown’s philosophy on creating a happy, healthy lifestyle is to utilize a combination of traditional medicine, routine exercise, healthy nutrition and supplementation, acupuncture/Eastern healing practices and psychotherapy.
Outside of her medical practice, Dr. Brown’s time is devoted to her family, their multiple sports programs and affiliations. She has a passion for travel, is an avid reader, a lover of the arts and theater and is interested in medical anthropology.
“I feel blessed to have the opportunity to join Placer Private Physicians where this direct care medical model embodies my vision of ideal patient care.”
Dr. Lezley Brown
Upon retirement after a career of over 30 years in the insurance industry, I had the opportunity to join the Placer Private Physicians team as the office manager. I am very excited to begin this next chapter where I am working with such a wonderful group of people. I am also a member of the practice and know the level of care provided by our doctors to be outstanding. I have been married to my husband Steve for 34 years, have two daughters Stephanie and Megan, son in law Casey, three grandchildren, Colt, Ryker and Henley, and wiener dog Lilly. I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, baking and reading.
Mikayla grew up in the Seattle area where she developed a love for the outdoors, staying active and great food. She grew up in a very active and fairly health conscious household and became interested in the field of nutrition in high school when she started noticing how her diet impacted her performance in sports.
Her academic journey led her to California State University, Chico where she majored in Nutrition and Food Science followed by her dietetic internship and Masters in Nutritional Sciences at Texas Tech University. In 2018, Mikayla relocated to Sacramento to embark on her professional journey as a dietitian, a move that has kept her rooted in the area ever since.
She enjoys spending her time with her family and friends and prefers to be outdoors whether that’s biking or running, or even just strolling through the farmers market. If you need a restaurant or coffee shop recommendation, she keeps a running list of her favorites and always new places that she wants to try.
She’s joining us with a wide variety of experience as a dietitian from clinical nutrition, counseling and content creation. She loves to help others find joy and ease in choosing nourishing foods in a way that works best for their health and lifestyle.
Kimberly has worked with Dr. Lichti and Dr. Hedman since 2007 and joined them when opening Placer Private Physicians. “It has been an honor to be invited into the lives of so many great families. Babies are now in elementary school, school aged kids are getting married, and moms like me are becoming grandmothers. Wow! How time flies!”
In Kimberly’s spare time, she enjoys cooking, supporting local live music and sports, and last, but not least, her two cats Murphy and Maxwell.
Lisa started her Medical Assistant career in 2017 after completing an externship and receiving excellent mentorship from the Placer Private Physicians staff. She enjoys learning more about family medicine, particularly hormone therapy, by working closely with Dr. Brown. She looks forward to continuing to get to know all of her patients!
Harry started his Medical Assisting career after finishing his externship with P3 in 2021. Family medicine makes him feel right at home. He looks forward to continue getting to know all of our wonderful patients.
Cindy recently graduated from MTI College in 2023. She is excited to grow her knowledge within Placer Private Physicians and making sure patients needs are met. She will be working primarily with Dr. Sivia, but helping with other duties in the office as needed. She’s looking forward to meeting our patients and building relationships within our P3 family.
Outside of work she enjoys going on hikes with her sister and spending time at the ranch with her family.
I was born in Sunnyvale and brought up in Rocklin at the age of 2. Recently I have begun to nurture the beginning of my education, thanks to my loving partner, in the medical field. I recently graduated from Unitek College and received my diploma in Medical Office Administration. Outside of work I enjoy writing, drawing, and playing D&D.
I landed at Placer Private Physicians in August of 2024 and I am excited to see where this next leg of my journey takes me.
After graduating college, Casie spent several years in a career with Ventura County government but opted to stay home while her kids were small. As kids have started getting into school, she has been excited to get back into the workforce. She started with Placer Private Physicians in April 2022 and is quickly finding a home. “I feel privileged to work with such a great group of people who not only truly care about our patients, but also one another.”
Casie was born and raised in Southern California and moved to the Sacramento area five years ago to raise kids away from the hustle and bustle of LA. She and her four daughters love spending time at the lake or river, hiking, riding bikes on the trails through their neighborhood and attending parades and street markets in their small town.