Michael Barber
3314 Mesa Road, Colo Spgs, CO 80904
719-428-2202
gardenofthegodsresort.com
FOR TWO DECADES, DR. MICHAEL BARBER WAS A PERENNIAL choice of his peers as a “Top Doc” in cardiology. In 2023, Dr. Barber has again been chosen by his peers—only now in the category of Integrated Health.
Why would Barber leave a successful cardiology practice to pursue such an innovative new field?
“I was trained to do a very aggressive type of cardiology called interventional cardiac electrophysiology. I inserted pacemakers and defibrillators and ran wires into a patient’s heart.” Barber wondered, “if I could fix you with diet, exercise and doing the right things for yourself, wouldn’t that be better?”
Barber’s epiphany came with a 2 am ER call about a patient admitted with a heart rate of 10. The ER doc proposed a list of interventions: “I said, ‘Back the truck up here a second; is he talking to you?’ Yes. ‘What’s his blood pressure?’ Low, but detectable. ‘Has he peed since arriving?’ Well, yes. Good, his brain and kidneys are getting blood. Don’t do anything until I get there.” By 6 am, the patient had a pacemaker and was sitting up and eating.
“I don’t know why it was him,” he says now. “It came like a light bulb over your head: ‘I wish I could have gotten hold of this guy 10 or 20 years ago. Maybe he could have avoided this.”
Soon after, he met Judy Mackey, who shared a joint vision of a new kind of healthcare, complementing the best of modern Western medicine with traditional Eastern therapies focused on prevention, rather than reaction. They envisioned an innovative clinic that could identify whole body systems that are not functioning properly, or not in harmony with one another—often the root cause of disease.
When Mackey partnered with Brenda Smith to purchase the Garden of the Gods Resort and Club in 2013, their vision found a home. Now, as Medical Director for Strata Wellness, Barber adds his expertise in cardiovascular disease, hypertension, internal medicine, and lipid abnormalities to Strata’s team of experts in chiropractic, IV nutrition, naturopathy, acupuncture, precision nutrition, meditation, fitness, bioidentical hormones, metabolic health and even pediatric subspecialties.
Dr. Barber credits the accomplished, diverse staff at Strata for his selection as one of 2022’s Top Docs: “This is definitely for all of us.”
Dr. Shane Wells: Functional Neurology Specialist
Dr. Karly Powell: Naturopathic Doctor
Dr. Jennifer Habashy: Naturopathic Doctor
Dr. Micah Sutton: Doctor of Chiropractic
Angie Barber: RN, BSN, Clinical Coordinator & Liaison
Tracy Iverson: Performance Coach
David Kidd: STRATA Operations Manager
Mark Harry: Cardiovascular Diagnostics
Kara Langaker: Experience Guide
Claire Mademann: STRATA Nutritionist
Tania McCorkle: Director of Wellness
Kelli Miller: Acupuncturist
Carissa Nelson: Fitness Manager
Alissa Przesiek: Experience Guide
Sophia Schreckenghaust: Wellness Program coordinator
Staci Shupe: Medical Aesthetician
Mela Spencer: Massage Therapy/Mindfulness
Kelly Stoinski: Wellness Training Coordinator
Janel Wagoner: Experience Guide