Kaitlin Graye | Evolve Medical

Meet Kaitlin Graye, family nurse practitioner and owner of Evolve Medical, who’s redefining obesity care with one-hour initial visits, education-first treatment, and genuine partnership.

In this conversation, she shares how patient demand pushed her to launch a thriving practice, the real impact of stigma around weight, and inspiring success stories—including triple-digit weight loss that changes entire families. You’ll also hear how Evolve serves multiple states via telemedicine and why their workplace wellness programs are boosting community health in Pensacola.

If you want a candid, practical look at healthcare done right and the leadership mindset behind it, hit play!

Interviewer: Okay, so I’m here with Kaitlin Graye, the owner of Evolve Medical, and we are going to highlight Caitlyn and her business today. So, thank you for being here.

Kaitlin Graye: Yes, thank you for having me.

Interviewer: So, a couple of questions. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and the business or organization that you work with?

Kaitlin Graye: So, I’m Kaitlin Graye. I’m a family nurse practitioner, and I own Evolve Medical. I founded Evolve Medical—we’re going on three years this January—with the intention of increasing people’s accessibility and affordability to quality obesity-medicine care. I see a lot of weight loss clinics have popped up on every corner, and we wanted to make sure that we delivered something different where we could really help people lose weight and keep it off.

Interviewer: What inspired you to get into this field?

Kaitlin Graye: I was working at a really great weight loss clinic in an internal medicine practice, and they were so busy you couldn’t get a new patient appointment with me for about nine months. So, it was time to grow, and I saw a niche and a need that was being unmet. I decided to jump in and practice for myself.

Interviewer: Have you ever been in business before?

Kaitlin Graye: No. I’ve helped someone else—a family member—grow a business, but I’ve never owned a business.

Interviewer: Very good. So, what does a typical day look like for you?

Kaitlin Graye: Typically, I get here an hour or two before I start seeing patients. I still have a full panel—maybe I see 200 to 250 patients a month. So, I’ll arrive an hour or two early so I can set up the other providers for the day, meet with my manager, focus on goals for the week, and make sure everybody else is set up to have a smooth day.

Interviewer: So, you’re the owner, but you also provide care and you have clients.

Kaitlin Graye: Absolutely.

Interviewer: That’s a full day.

Kaitlin Graye: Yes. Yes.

Interviewer: And you’ve been doing this for how long?

Kaitlin Graye: I’ve been in obesity medicine—this will be my sixth year—but I’ve been in my own practice for three years.

Interviewer: And it seems like you’re thriving, I’d say.

Kaitlin Graye: We’ve been really, really blessed. I think we’ve maintained our roots, and that’s carried us really well through the community. Patients have referred friends, and word of mouth has really grown our business in this community.

Interviewer: Very good. Very good. So, what do you love most about your profession and the work that your business does?

Kaitlin Graye: I love the lives that we change—being able to empower clients to take control of their health and really partner with them, talk with them and not at them. So much of health care is broken in a lot of ways. Providers are sometimes really stressed and have a limited amount of time that they can spend with the patient. The average amount of time that a primary care provider can spend with a patient in America is seven minutes. So, we do one-hour initials with our patients. We pour a lot of education into them because we want to help them long term really understand how to manage their own health.

Interviewer: Yeah. I mean, without your health, you don’t have anything, right? It doesn’t matter how much money you have. If you can’t walk to get the mail or go on a walk on the beach or spend time with your family…

Kaitlin Graye: Oh, yeah. And we’re all working to retire, but you want to live well—not just longer. So, I really love to be able to shape lives and see that ripple effect that happens in the community where we help a patient and they teach their children, or they get their spouse on board, and then their coworkers ask. It’s a great way to impact the whole community.

Interviewer: That’s awesome. Yeah. What’s a challenge in your industry or in running your business that most people don’t see behind the scenes?

Kaitlin Graye: I think a lot of people don’t realize how much weight stigma there is. You go to the doctor’s office and, instead of being heard, patients will report that everything is blamed on their weight—some things that maybe aren’t even weight-related. Studies also show that people who interview with different companies, if they are over a certain BMI, they’re less likely to get jobs. So, I think bringing attention to obesity as a chronic disease and being an advocate for treating obesity as a chronic disease is important to us for what we do here, because we want companies to recognize it’s not just a choice. It’s very complicated. There are a lot of metabolic factors that go into it. Each and every patient that we see—we really try to teach those things to them because they’re able to spread that message to other people and maybe change some of that weight bias that’s just innate and kind of taught to us in this culture, right?

Interviewer: I mean, I have an 8-year-old and a 5-year-old, right? And so, the food that they like—it makes all of us gain weight.

Kaitlin Graye: Oh, yeah.

Interviewer: And we’re just surrounded by it all the time.

Kaitlin Graye: Yeah.

Interviewer: And it almost seems like our society is trying to make us that way, which may be another conversation. But could you tell me a little bit—maybe somebody that you’ve worked with for a year or two who’s seen results and what that was like?

Kaitlin Graye: Oh, yeah. Absolutely. I mean, we’ve seen thousands of patients at this point, which is great. Obesity is complex, but what we’ve seen in this country is that the rise in obesity correlates with a rise in industrialism. You’ve got two parents working, you’ve got kids in sports—everybody’s busy, busy, busy. As a result, we’ve kind of become a nation of convenience. I like to take the blame off of a patient and meet them where they are, because I’m not going to be able to create more time in your day or really increase your access to all whole foods sometimes. We have to work with your lifestyle. I always tell patients the best diet is the one that you can stick to, because if I create something that’s not sustainable, I’m not really helping you in the long term.

I’ve had patients who’ve lost over 175 pounds—I think my biggest losers… biggest losers, I know, I know—lose in a great way, though. And then I have patients who just want to lose 20 or 30 pounds because they want to get some of that weight off of their knees and their hips. Every one pound that you lose is four pounds of pressure off your knees. So, I tell patients there’s no goal too big or too small for us to help you with.

Interviewer: Wow. And different than a normal doctor—are there check-ins? So, they come in for the initial meeting and then there’s probably more accountability for that, right?

Kaitlin Graye: Absolutely. After the first one-hour visit, we typically see them back in about a month. We want to make sure you’re doing well. We want to catch any potential side effects or challenges you might have with understanding the diet. We also have a dedicated patient line, so patients are able to contact us in the portal, and typically we’re going to get back within the same day, which a lot of patients don’t really believe—that we’re that responsive. But I think since we’ve kept our practice really patient-centered, it’s not usually a challenge. Patients just want help. They want a simple answer, and they want somebody to support them. I find that being really proactive and responding to patient care helps a lot on the back end. So, when they come in for their one-month follow-up, they don’t have 15 problems. We’re able to talk about what we need to talk about face to face, and we fix their problems with side effects or prescriptions the day that it started.

Interviewer: And I imagine when people start to make progress, they’ve got to feel so much better about themselves—not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, for their family—all of it.

Kaitlin Graye: Absolutely. We see a lot of correlation between obesity and depression. Sometimes we’re referring out to some of the counselors in the area that we know have some experience with weight-sensitive topics. Sometimes we’re referring to the dietitian that we work with because they might need a little more education on the diabetes or chronic kidney disease side. Sometimes we’re educating them or managing some of their blood pressure and cholesterol meds because we see them so often. Overall, they have such a better understanding of their health that they feel a lot more empowered going forward to lose that weight and keep it off and maybe not have to see us monthly after a certain period of time—which is the goal. We want to help empower you so you feel like you can do this forever.

Interviewer: That’s great. Yeah. So, when you’re not running a business or meeting with clients, what are you doing for fun?

Kaitlin Graye: I have a Giant Schnauzer that I really love. I was never a dog person—so I got this Giant Schnauzer. And then I really like traveling. My significant other is on the Blue Angels team, so that’s been a really cool experience over the last couple of years. Sometimes I get to travel out to these different cities, see a show, and explore the city while we’re out there.

Interviewer: Yeah. Giant Schnauzers are the ones that have the loud kind of bark, right?

Kaitlin Graye: It’s actually not a barker. They’re the ones with the little beard and usually the cropped ears and cropped tail.

Interviewer: Right, right. They’re usually black, right?

Kaitlin Graye: Yes, they’re usually black.

Interviewer: Okay. What’s something people might be surprised to learn about you or your business?

Kaitlin Graye: Something that people might be surprised to learn about me is we service multiple states. A lot of my patients have said, “Can you see my cousin? Can you see my uncle? Can you see my friend?” Usually, I’ll give them a list of states, and if they’re really adamant that this person wants to commit to care, a lot of times one of us will just obtain a license in that state. Right now, we see patients throughout the state of Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Virginia, Georgia, and we’re working on California.

Interviewer: Wow. So I’m assuming that’s remote.

Kaitlin Graye: Yep. We’ll do telemedicine for patients who can’t come in person. We give either option because sometimes people really can’t get away. We maintain normal clinic hours, and sometimes people can’t get off from their job or they can’t get here from Louisiana or Georgia. We want to make sure that we’re finding ways to make care accessible.

Interviewer: Well, I think that’s fantastic because like we’ve said several times, without your health, what do you have, right?

Kaitlin Graye: Right.

Interviewer: And a lot of people, I’m sure, are self-conscious or sensitive or scared to go ask for help. Coming from a friend that might have used your services, they feel comfortable with it. That referral probably helps them feel more comfortable.

Kaitlin Graye: Absolutely.

Interviewer: You know what I mean?

Kaitlin Graye: Yeah. It means everything in the world to get clients from patient referrals because that means you’re doing something right, right?

Interviewer: Yeah. Absolutely. Who has been the biggest influence on your career mindset or your approach to running your business?

Kaitlin Graye: I’d say my patients. When I first jumped out of my job in internal medicine—where we took all insurance—and I opened my own practice, I wasn’t sure if this was going to work or if people were going to come with me or what was going to happen. I went from a panel of 30 starting my own practice to 300 in 30 days. I was definitely not prepared. So many of my patients followed me. They really wanted to continue the care that I was giving them. They didn’t want to find a new provider. That spoke volumes to me. In those first 90 days, I had patients stop by and offer to help us put together furniture and paint walls. Just seeing the support that my community gave me when I opened this let me know I was doing the right thing.

Interviewer: Awesome. That’s got to be a major affirmation.

Kaitlin Graye: Absolutely.

Interviewer: To see that support.

Kaitlin Graye: Yes. Because you’re never sure it’s going to work when you start, right?

Interviewer: Yep. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, the challenges of starting from almost nothing, right? And then building it and having employees—it’s a huge responsibility.

Kaitlin Graye: It is.

Interviewer: And then you want to take care of your clients and provide them with consistent service.

Kaitlin Graye: Yes.

Interviewer: Like you just said, I think the telehealth thing—where they can check in online—that’s an incredible resource for somebody who might be struggling or just need advice.

Kaitlin Graye: Absolutely.

Interviewer: Yeah, that’s great. How does your business make an impact on people in the local community?

Kaitlin Graye: Recently this year, we started some employee wellness programs. Our very first program was with the City of Pensacola. We started out approaching our police department, saying, “These are some of the things that we can offer our officers to try to get them healthier. They’re the people who take care of us. We want to take care of them.” The chief of police, Chief Randall at the time, was so excited about it, he decided to offer it to all the City of Pensacola. It was one of those moments as a small business where you’re like, “Wait, is this happening?” That’s been really great. We’ve done some lunch-and-learns at City Hall recently. We were in talks with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, trying to offer them some of the same things. This year, I plan to expand to other businesses in the area to offer them the opportunity to offer their employees these wellness programs.

You get a lot of mid-size businesses that don’t realize that, one, when you offer some sort of wellness program, it’s tax-deductible. Maybe you’re a business that can’t quite afford health insurance for your employees, but maybe you can afford like $60 a month for them to enroll in some sort of weight and wellness program where we can give them labs and a 60-minute initial appointment. We can really take time to improve their health and wellness, and the return on investment of that is huge, right? It’s huge. People with a BMI less than 30 have an absenteeism rate of about four days per year. Those with a BMI over 30 lose about eight days of productivity a year. Big differences—especially when you’re looking at large-scale numbers. Four days to eight days doesn’t seem like a lot, but it is a lot of lost productivity. So really trying to get companies to realize that little bit of spending in the beginning is going to give you so much return on investment in the end and help with employee retention—that’s our next big goal. We want to reach out to business owners and let them know what they can do to take care of their staff.

Interviewer: Absolutely. Yeah. Because in a lot of industries, you have to have 30 to 40 employees to be able to afford health care.

Kaitlin Graye: Absolutely.

Interviewer: And that’s a fair-sized company. The majority of the rest of the small businesses are smaller than that. So helping bridge that gap for employee retention has got to be a very useful resource.

Kaitlin Graye: Yes.

Interviewer: That’s awesome. Congratulations with the city. I mean, wow.

Kaitlin Graye: Yeah, that was really exciting.

Interviewer: Was that a lot of work to put all that together?

Kaitlin Graye: I don’t ever feel like it’s work. I really love what I do. That sounds so cliché, and I think people say that all the time—when you love what you do, it doesn’t feel like work—but it doesn’t. The opportunity to make an impact in the community where you live is huge. My big goal was to bring attention to the City of Pensacola, say, “Hey, whatever you’re doing to keep our community healthy, these are our numbers—these are State of Florida numbers—and we want to do whatever it takes to move us up and make us healthier so people aren’t just living longer, they’re living better.” That results in a whole community of healthier individuals who are more productive, companies that do better, people that are happier—there’s a slew of benefits that happen whenever you take big steps like that. I was really excited the City of Pensacola decided to give us a chance and serve our community.

Interviewer: Well, it’s very obvious that you’re extremely passionate about this. There’s a massive amount of intrinsic value in what you do. If somebody lost 175 pounds, that’s life-changing.

Kaitlin Graye: It is.

Interviewer: Probably more than winning the lottery in a lot of ways.

Kaitlin Graye: Yeah.

Interviewer: That’s awesome.

Kaitlin Graye: It is. It’s a good feeling.

Interviewer: I’m sure. All right. What advice would you give to someone starting out in your profession or launching a business in your field?

Kaitlin Graye: I think you and I maybe work with some of the same consultants, and one of the consultants I work with—Kevin—has been… Kevin Tuttle—for those watching. I hired him as a leadership coach maybe a year or so ago, and one of the first assignments he gave me was to work on my vision, mission, and values. That’s something that I have picked up and put down a number of times, and then when he really held me accountable, I finished them. He’ll do that—he’ll do that—but that’s great. We want people to keep us accountable and make us grow out of our comfort zone.

When I really clearly identified those, it was easier for me to hire; it was easier for me to let go of people that maybe weren’t aligned with my goals. I encourage any business owner to take a little time and write down your vision, mission, and values, and make sure your decisions and the people that you bring on your team are aligned with that.

Interviewer: I think that’s really good advice, and it’s so challenging in the beginning when there’s so much to do and your resources are so limited.

Kaitlin Graye: Absolutely.

Interviewer: In a lot of ways, for me it felt like I was making decisions more out of necessity than having a clear end point. Having that clarity of where I believe we can go—and some plan that seems to always be changing on how to get there—makes those decisions a little easier. Right? But I think it’s great that you also had the willingness to work with a mentor. For me, Kevin has been huge.

Kaitlin Graye: Absolutely. We’re, I think, as business owners, often in positions of authority. We try to be in positions of leadership instead of just a manager. But we need people to hold us accountable and tell us what we need to work on—people who are not afraid to tell us that, right? Hiring professionals and outside help—especially someone the caliber of Kevin Tuttle—has been huge for us and for me.

Interviewer: It is. Yeah, it is. Very good. All right. What’s one piece of wisdom you wish you could go back and share with yourself when you first started your career or business?

Kaitlin Graye: I feel like I wrote something down. Was I right? It’s a lot of questions. When I first started my business… we’ll talk a little bit more about mentors. I’d say be as transparent as you can with mentors that you hire. I recently had a talk with one of my mentors at the student group—I’m in the SEI program, Student Community Institute—and they pair with mentors in the community who are C-suite executives and maybe presidents or CEOs of huge companies. After talking with one of the other mentees, she gave me a good piece of advice: Tell people what you don’t know and tell people what your struggles are. People can’t help you if they don’t know what’s wrong.

Sometimes, especially as a small company, we’re trying to make it seem like we have it all together—because we want to present as such. But if you’re not being transparent with people who can help you, they don’t know where your weak points are. Inviting people into your life—like Kevin Tuttle or some of my mentors at SEI—sometimes is a really humbling experience. I’m sure you can relate, where you feel really vulnerable and raw to identify some of your weak points. But I think that’s the big difference between leaders and bosses, right? As a leader, we want to set an example. We want to continue to get better. We want to take care of our people. We want to run with the team, and we want to lead. Sometimes that requires that you bring people in that you need to be really vulnerable with. Do that early on.

Interviewer: I 100% agree with you. All the way from, you know, when you get a team of five or ten or twenty people that are all looking to you for answers—you don’t want to… it’s uncomfortable to admit that maybe we don’t have all the answers, right? But I think it hopefully shows some wisdom and willingness to bring in somebody to help, because how can we expect our teams to improve or do the next project or learn the next software or get better at sales—whatever it is—if we’re not also willing to do that?

Kaitlin Graye: Absolutely.

Interviewer: But being vulnerable—that’s a learned skill. It’s scary. It’s uncomfortable, especially when you’re just getting to know somebody. But like you said, if they don’t know, they can’t help, right? And I think most of the people that a small business owner would bring in to their team have probably been through it anyway. So, the way I look at it is I just have to get out of my own way. To me, it might be a crisis and it might—whatever—but they’re going to help and forget about it, check in with me later. I think that’s great. That’s probably one of the reasons you’ve done so well so quickly—that willingness.

Kaitlin Graye: I think so. And taking a lot of accountability as a business owner—telling your team when you don’t have an answer, telling your team when you made a mistake, taking accountability for maybe the process not being perfect but that we can improve it as a team. It’s no one’s fault; it’s a breakdown of the system. Really learning what that means as a business owner—not just saying it, but practicing it—has been really important. It’s made a team here that I can really count on and that I know feels comfortable coming to me. That way, we can give the best patient care possible.

Interviewer: Awesome. Very good. Okay. If people want to learn more about you or your business, where should they go?

Kaitlin Graye: Make sure you check us out on Facebook—we try to stay really active with social media. You can find us on Instagram. Both of those are going to be Evolve Medical Care. You can also visit our website to learn more about our program: www.evolvemedicalcare.com. Again, that’s www.evolvemedicalcare.com. We’re located here in Pensacola, Florida, but if you’re out of state, make sure to send us a message. Sometimes we have state licenses that aren’t quite posted on our website, and we’d be happy to help.

Interviewer: Is there anything else—final message or comments—that you would like to share with anybody watching?

Kaitlin Graye: I like to tell you guys: make sure that you make time for opportunities like this. As small business owners, sometimes we only make time for those revenue-generating activities. Taking time to connect with other business owners—maybe that aren’t even in your same industry—has always been really fruitful for me because I’ve always learned something. Making those connections—you never know when you’re going to need to call on somebody again. So, I say make time for things that aren’t just revenue-generating, because the investment is great.

Interviewer: I agree. You never know—you may have lunch with somebody and have a conversation that could save you six months or a year of frustration.

Kaitlin Graye: Absolutely.

Interviewer: Or a connection with somebody else. When I started networking, things started changing.

Kaitlin Graye: Oh, yeah.

Interviewer: So, Caitlyn, I really enjoyed this. Thank you. Thank you for your time and good luck with everything.

Kaitlin Graye: Thank you.