Written by Mary Wallace / Photos by ACE Photography / 406 Woman Magazine

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Please meet Kaycee McIntosh – Physician’s Assistant, Medical Aesthetician, wife, daughter, mom to three boys, and wilderness survival podcast host 

Kaycee is a part of the medical team offering patient-centered, personalized care to meet the unique health needs of women at all stages of life at Kalispell Ob/Gyn, the longest-running private practice focused on women in the Flathead Valley.

After 10 years working in an Urgent Care setting, Kaycee McIntosh found that she always liked patient interaction and had a particular affinity for women’s health issues. When an opportunity arose to transition to women’s health at Kalispell Ob/Gyn in 2021, she was eager to embrace the mission to help promote and advocate for the health, safety, and quality of life of all women. 

After 10 years working in an Urgent Care setting, Kaycee McIntosh found that she always liked the patient interaction and had a particular affinity for women’s health issues

 Kaycee joined a strong team of Dr Gwenda Jonas and other mid-level Practitioners including Austin Rusher, Shawn Shanahan, and Marci Mangold – all of whom work together to provide whole body women’s health care. Their Spa-like medical office in The Falls Building at 165 Commons Loop in Kalispell, offers an incredibly comfortable and safe place to receive whatever care they need including a full spectrum of women’s services – health screening, contraceptive management, uterine bleeding, perimenopause, post menopause, hormone therapy, and Kaycee’s specialty which includes a range of carefully chosen aesthetic treatments. 

When it comes to health care for women, the team at Kalispell OB/GYN knows that all women are different and diverse, and deserve specific care at each stage of their life. They strongly believe in a proactive and preventive approach to the overall wellness of women’s health care. Their focus is to keep their patients informed, empowered, and help them understand their body and how to take care of it. 

 Kaycee says that she gets it…women tend to be the caregivers, always putting everyone else in their life first, and not prioritizing their own health & wellbeing. But they absolutely should be also setting aside a little prioritizing for themselves! “And what better way to squeeze in a little “me” pampering than with the medical team you are already trusting with most of your healthcare needs?” said Kaycee 

 What are medical aesthetics? They are injections to provide enhancement of a patient’s physical appearance. The botox treatments offered are minimal pain procedures and they produce subtle changes in the forehead and eyes that can help boost confidence and self-esteem. Results are visible within a few days up to two weeks and last for up to 3-4 months. When it comes to aesthetics, it is recommended that patients consult with their medical team earlier, so that they can make informed decisions about why and when to begin treatments. 

 Botox is also often used medically for TMJ treatment. In addition, a 2017 study published in the Iranian Journal of Public Health on the Efficacy of Botox versus Placebo for Treatment of Patients with Major Depression concluded that Botox is, indeed, effective for the treatment of patients with major depression, especially for patients who had not responded well to other depression treatments, and it has a high safety rate. This may be related to a decrease in facial sadness by Botox, which was also reported as well in the study since these treatments make it harder to frown. Further studies with a larger sample size and multi-center samplings are likely required to verify these findings. 

Kaycee McIntosh is a fifth-generation Montanan on both sides of her family. She was born in Missoula and raised in the Flathead Valley when at the age of 4, she and her family moved to Whitefish so her father could work on the railroad. Kaycee went to college in Bozeman where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Science/Health and Human Development from MSU. She then went to graduate school at Rocky Mountain College in Billings where she received her Master of Physician Assistant. She has since attained certification to also provide aesthetic services.

Something that not a lot of people know about Kaycee, is that she co-hosts a weekly podcast with her friend Julie Henningson, called “The Crux: True Survival Stories”. Combining Julie’s knowledge of wilderness survival and Kaycee’s passion for medicine, the two of them explore gripping tales of resilience, insights into wilderness and other crisis survival, and the mindset to overcome adversity. She and Julie started the podcast from the ground up and they currently have somewhere between 40-50K monthly listeners. Fueled by real-life stories and the pivotal moments that determined life or death outcomes, “The Crux: True Survival Stories” is available on multiple podcast channels.

Kaycee, along with her husband Toby, an engineer from Vermont, loves raising their three young boys together in Whitefish. Kaycee enjoys spending time outside skiing, biking, playing fetch with their dog, and being with her family. She also loves art, being creative, and enjoys thinking outside of the box.

Kaycee’s bucket list is not full of a lot of super momentous, nearly unachievable experiences. Her list includes things like paragliding, performing at a local open mic night, and other similar activities that can be done on the spur of the moment and still take her outside her comfort zone. Kaycee feels like we should be doing bucket list items every single day, even if they are small ones.

She is proud of her work in the medical field. Her approach to this is that it is more for the people aspect – not so much the medicine. She truly appreciates the connections she has made with her patients and her ability to help them. She is also proud of having put the podcast out to the universe, since in doing so, she has gained a whole new skill set. 

What’s the best piece of advice she could give to our readers?

“Live now! Don’t save your life experiences for later!”

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This article was originally published in 406 Woman Magazine