925-820-6456
901 San Ramon Valley Blvd. Suite 130
Danville, CA 94526
Fax 925-820-1134

Dr. Sarah Ferguson

Welcome to Avenues for Health and the story of my journey to this exceptional practice. At Avenues, I practice Integrative Medicine, which means combining the best of my training in Internal Medicine, Medical Acupuncture, Chinese and Western herbs, nutrition and mind-body medicine to address the needs of my patient.

At the wise age of nine, I decided to become a doctor and with the enthusiastic support of my parents and family, I set my sights on a career in medicine. I grew up in Pennsylvania where I attended Gettysburg College, majoring in chemistry. After graduation, I spent a year in medical research at the University of Pennsylvania working on the Pneumococcal Vaccine project, better known as the pneumonia vaccine. Entering the Medical College of Pennsylvania (formerly Women's Medical College) in 1972, I had to be one of the happiest medical students in it's history and my love of learning carried me through my four years there. I was very fortunate to receive my education at a school that has historically been committed to women in medicine, creating a unique atmosphere of cooperation and camaraderie within the school. I married the love of my life in 1975, a wonderful Canadian who was then an architecture student at Harvard. After graduation, we moved to Toronto, his hometown, where I did my internship and residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Toronto.

After four years of long hours and frigid winters, I was ready to return to the USA to explore warmer places and a new direction in medicine. We moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and started a family with our first daughter, Katy. Seeking to move beyond the traditional academic model which often dehumanized both patient and physician, I took a position on the staff of a unique health center in San Francisco called the MinAn (which means well-being in Chinese). It was my incredibly good fortune to work there with Sadja Greenwood, M.D., a true pioneer in Women's Health. Under her direction, Minan was way ahead of it's time as it combined Chinese and Western Medicine, bringing the best of both to our patients.

Following the birth of our second daughter Lindsay, I moved my practice to the East Bay and opened my solo practice in Danville in 1989. Over the next nine years, my practice grew and thrived as I continued to learn about many different alternative therapies, such as nutrition, functional medicine, guided imagery, Pilates exercise therapy, herbs and Qi Gong. My work was truly enriched in 1998 when I completed the training in Medical Acupuncture for Physicians through UCLA Continuing Medical Education. Since then, acupuncture has become a vital and integral part of my daily practice for both prevention and treatment. My knowledge of both Chinese and Western herbal medicine has continued to grow through formal training with master herbalists in the Bay Area, providing my patients with options to choose between pharmaceuticals and herbs or a careful blending of both.

In 1998, I joined with Karin DeNevi in founding Avenues for Health, which brought together my expertise in primary care and alternative therapies with the experience of an excellent gynecologist to offer women a broad scope of practice that ranged from acupuncture to state of the art surgery. We were recently joined by Pamela Wang, a wonderful Internist and acupuncturist.

My personal practice philosophy is one of open-mindedness, integrating the best of many healing traditions. I have great respect and experience in the scientific approach of Western Medicine. Equally valuable to me are my skills as an avid listener, keen observer and creative thinker. I enjoy getting to know my patients, approaching each individual's history and experience with an open heart and mind. I trust my patient's knowledge of her own body. Together we create a partnership in our approach to her health and wellness that is most beneficial to her unique body, mind and spirit. Although my practice encompasses the broad scope of primary care and medical acupuncture, my special interest is Women's Health and the use of complimentary therapies in the treatment of PMS, perimenopause and menopause.

Dr. Karin DeNevi - Dr. Pamela Wang