Cara Ortiz, L. Ac.
Fertility, IVF, Women’s Health, Pain, and Chronic Illness
Cara Ortiz MTCM, L. Ac. joined the Lokahi fertility team in 2022.
She is an acupuncturist and Chinese Medicine practitioner who believes your body deserves to be treated as a whole, not as a collection of separate symptoms.
With more than a decade of clinical experience, Cara works with patients navigating fertility and reproductive health, pain, hormonal concerns, stress, and other chronic health issues. Her approach combines acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, nutrition, and lifestyle guidance to create personalized and practical treatment plans.
Cara’s path to Chinese Medicine began in 2002 while studying botany and plant medicine from cultures around the world. She was especially drawn to the traditional knowledge of how plants have been used to support health and healing. This connection to the natural world eventually led her to Traditional Chinese Medicine, where she found a medical tradition that views the body as an interconnected system.
Cara earned her Master’s degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine from Five Branches University in 2011, with extensive training in acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, nutrition and dietetics, biomedicine, and orthopedics. She completed advanced fertility training in China at Zhejiang University and doctoral-level coursework focused on pain and fertility.
Cara grew up in Northern California and now lives in Santa Cruz with her husband and daughter. Outside the clinic, she enjoys swimming, cooking, yoga, backpacking, and exploring the forest with her family.
