River Hills Family Medicine founder and longtime Steiner Ranch resident Lori Naglieri has taken a leap of faith this year and opened her second office in Leander – some 13 years after opening her first office in the River Place area.

Dr. Naglieri has been able to work with hundreds and hundreds of patients and in some cases, three generations of family members in her nearly two decades in practice.

As she runs a demanding practice, she also juggles being a mother-of-two.

“Like all working moms, I understand the trials of motherhood and appreciate the challenges in balancing work and family,” she shared.  

In this Four Points New Q&A, Dr. Naglieri shares why she chose the field of medicine, what brought her to this area, and what’s in store next with expansion. 

1) Why did you choose to pursue family medicine and open your own practice?

From the age of 6, I felt called to be a doctor. Family medicine was an easy choice because it provided the opportunity for me to develop long term relationships with my patients while caring for a large variety of medical issues. I took a leap of faith in 2009 and started River Hills Family Medicine with the mission to provide more of my time to each patient and exceed their healthcare expectations. This year I am honored to receive a “Best of ATX” award from Austin Monthly Magazine in Family Medicine as voted on by my fellow physicians. 

I have been practicing in Austin for almost 20 years and have patients that have been with me for that long. It is my privilege to care for three generations of many families, to share with them some of their hardest struggles and to celebrate their greatest victories. I feel like I have the largest family of anyone I know, because these patients are my extended family.

Family medicine is described as “a mile wide and an inch deep” as opposed to many specialties in medicine which are exactly the opposite. I never know what my day will hold and this keeps me on my toes,  prevents me from ever getting bored and challenges me to always learn more. Yet, it does pose a heavy burden sometimes both from an emotional and a time-management standpoint.

In the last decade, I have shifted my vision from “managing disease” to “promoting healthy futures”.  This has brought a great deal of satisfaction for me as a practitioner but even more delight for my patients as they experience success with weight loss, better sleep, improved relationships, mood disorders and control of their sugars, blood pressures, bone densities and cardiovascular risks. I get a front row seat to watch the tides turn in a positive direction as our community ages healthier, stronger and happier.

2) Where are you from and what brought you to the Four Points area? 

I am from Carrollton, Tex. and only applied to one college. The first time I stepped foot on the campus of Texas A&M, I knew I would be an Aggie for life. After graduating Summa Cum Laude with a degree in Biomedical Science in 1996, I went to University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. 

I moved to Austin out of residency in 2003 to take advantage of the beautiful lakes here. That year I met my husband who was suitemates with my little brother at A&M. We married in 2004 and have lived in Steiner Ranch ever since. He is a lieutenant with the Austin Fire Department and also loves serving the citizens here.

We have two children and being “mom” to Grace (14) and Michael (11) has brought an indescribable joy to my life. Of all the hats that I wear, this one is my favorite! Like all working moms, I understand the trials of motherhood and appreciate the challenges in balancing work and family.  

In my free time, I  enjoy attending church at Austin Christian Fellowship, Texas Aggie football, running, being on the lake and spending time with my family and friends. I also now serve on the school board for Hyde Park Schools where Grace is a freshman and Michael is in the 5th grade. 

3) What prompted the decision to open a second location of River Hills Family Medicine?

We are proud to announce that our Leander location opened in January 2022!  A large number of patients have been with me for almost two decades, since I first moved to Austin in 2003 working at a clinic in Cedar Park. Many of them still travel from Cedar Park/Leander and I am so grateful for their loyalty. They think it is I who help them, but I would bet they bring me even greater joy. By opening a second location in Leander, they now have to travel as little as 5 minutes to see me, when it would take them an hour sometimes with the Four Points traffic! I also have staff who live as far north as Georgetown, so the new clinic is much closer for them as well.

Leander is a rapidly growing community and  there is also an opportunity to reach so many new people who are moving to Central Texas and provide them with exceptional, unique healthcare. There are many ‘big box’ medical options around where patient’s visits are rushed and impersonal, but frankly small offices such as River Hills Family Medicine are rare these days. We offer personalized, heart-felt, cutting-edge care that cannot be obtained at just every practice. That is how we stand above the crowd.

As we grow, I would be honored to work with other doctors who want to get off the healthcare hamster wheel, step outside of their comfort zone and practice medicine their way.  If you know of anyone like this, please have them reach out to me at lorinaglieri@riverhillsfm.com.  And as always, I welcome the opportunity to make your family a part of ours at River Hills Family Medicine, now serving you from Austin and Leander.