J. Ashley Parker, MD

"Dr. J. Ashley Parker was born in Murfreesboro, NC and then moved to Roanoke Rapids, NC where he was a 1990 graduate of Roanoke Rapids High School. He went on to the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill where he received a BS in Chemistry in 1994. Based on his experiences with small town doctors while growing up in rural Eastern NC and his exposure to sciences and health care in college, Dr. Parker realized his desire to return to Eastern NC to practice Family Medicine. He attended East Carolina University School of Medicine where he was a NC Rural Health Scholar and an Alpha Omega Alpha Honors graduate in 2000. After completing his Family Medicine residency at Riverside Regional Medical Center in Newport News, VA in 2003, Dr. Parker joined Rocky Mount Family Medical Center in Rocky Mount, NC. He practiced medicine there for 12 1/2 years before going out on his own to open Freedom Family Medicine. Dr. Ashley Parker met his wife, Dr. Holly Parker, who is a native of Kinston, NC, while they were in medical school together at ECU. They were married in 2000, and they have 5 children who keep things interesting at home! Dr. Parker served in the North Carolina Army National Guard for almost 13 years including 2 deployments to Iraq. He is an avid outdoorsman and especially enjoys hunting deer and duck. He also enjoys playing or watching almost any sport, and he loves to sing in his church choir. Most importantly however, Dr. Parker seeks to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ with his entire life."

"Direct Primary Care has been around for many years, but it is growing rapidly as a model of health care because it addresses all these concerns and puts control of health care back between the patient and the doctor. Freedom Family Medicine is a Direct Primary Care practice. We offer 45 minute visits for regularly scheduled appointments and same day or, at the latest, next day visits when you are sick. Wait time is very limited because the doctor will be seeing 10-15 patients per day at the most. How would you like to have a direct phone number and email for your doctor for after hours and weekends? At Freedom Family Medicine, you’ve got it! In Direct Primary Care, patients pay the doctor directly, out-of-pocket, for office visits instead of insurance companies or governmental agencies paying the doctor. You may think this is more expensive or you may think, “I’ve already paid for my insurance, and I need to be able to use it.” Direct Primary Care is actually quite affordable as you can see under the Pricing tab. You will still need your insurance for hospitalization and for some medicines, but in the world of steadily increasing deductibles and insurance costs, many patients can actually save money by coming to a practice like Freedom Family Medicine. And with governmental agencies and insurance companies no longer dictating every detail, we can begin to restore power over personal health care back to where it belongs….between the patient and the doctor."