"A native of St. Louis, Dr. Clarissa Allen grew up in Chesterfield and attended Saint Louis University where she earned bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and biomedical engineering, before attending Saba University School of Medicine and completing her Family Medicine Residency at Aultman Hospital in Canton, Ohio. Dr. Allen served in a Federally Qualified Healthcare Center with a 20 bed critical access hospital in rural Kentucky for over three years. During her tenure, she discovered the importance of service to those with little access to health care and the pivotal role of physicians to community building. She then fulfilled her dream to teach others in the medical field, accepting a faculty position at Mercer University School of Medicine’s Family Residency Program. Upon her return to St. Louis, Dr. Allen joined the staff of a large, local hospital system and discovered the pressure to increase her patient caseload to cover office overhead and that insurance costs detracted from her ability to build patient relationships and provide the level of treatment her patients deserved. She joyfully accepted a position at Sprout MD with Dr. Otto to offer affordable and accessible quality healthcare to all patients, regardless of insurance coverage. Dr. Allen believes preventative medicine and in-depth patient relationships are key to patients’ overall health and wellness. At Sprout MD, Dr. Allen’s patients have direct and immediate contact with her for their medical concerns at an affordable to all price."