📣 Dear Student or Subscriber...

Welcome to our Sunday Student Spotlight series, where every other week we share the story and accomplishments of a Rockwell student or graduate.

Our community is filled with extraordinary healers doing inspiring work in the world, and we're thrilled to share their stories with you. 

Meet Dr. Peninah Wood 

Transforming loss into legacy, and finding joy through healing.

Burlington, Kentucky | Class of 2025 | Doctor of Functional Medicine and Holistic Nutrition

For decades, Dr. Peninah Wood worked inside the world of conventional medicine. As a nurse, she saw the best and worst of a system built around acute care.Transforming loss into legacy, and finding joy through healing.

But over time, through deeply personal experiences with neurodegenerative diseases and traumatic brain injuries, including the tragic loss of her oldest son, she came to a difficult realization: the system was not changing for the better.

“It became clear you can’t change it from within,” she recalls.

After much soul-searching, she made a bold decision: walking away from her six-figure role as an Executive Director in sub-acute care to pursue a new career path in holistic medicine — a choice that ultimately led her to Rockwell.

“I chose Rockwell for the quality of the content, the unmatched leadership, and the supportive staff,” she says. “But also because the cost made it accessible. It was clear this was the right step.”

From Conventional to Functional

Her turning point came when she finally saw, with clarity, that conventional and functional medicine need not compete.

“They need to merge together for the good of all patients,” Peninah says.

“I watched dementia and Parkinson’s patients medicated and treated like psych patients. That’s not the answer. The public is begging for change.”

At Rockwell, Peninah completed two doctorates – Functional Medicine and Holistic Nutrition – and shifted from a disease-centered approach to functional medicine, where the goal is uncovering root causes.

“This reframes everything. It’s not about covering symptoms. It’s about asking: what triggered the illness in the first place?"

Simcha Healthcare: A Tribute and a Mission

In 2025, Peninah founded Simcha Healthcare LLC in Burlington, Kentucky.

Her new practice is dedicated to neurodegenerative diseases and traumatic brain injuries, the very conditions she spent her career watching conventional medicine mismanage.

What sets her apart is both professional and personal. She asks questions that others don’t:

✔️ What caused the dementia?
✔️ What interventions at the moment of a traumatic brain injury might have reduced the damage?

And she carries into her work a name that carries meaning: “Simcha” is Hebrew for “joy.”

“Simcha (pictured above) was my son’s service dog,” she explains.

“He passed away in 2022, a few years after my son. Naming my practice after him is a tribute to them both, and to the joy that is still possible through healing.”

Wisdom and Hope

At 71 years young, Peninah is quick to remind others that it’s never too late to change.

“Don’t be afraid of change,” she advises.

“The field of functional and nutritional medicine is wide open. The public is begging for alternatives. And it’s never too late to change people’s lives or your own.”

Asked what she finds most rewarding, Peninah doesn’t hesitate.

“HOPE,” she says.

“To finally have answers for patients and families who have been waiting so long. That’s what keeps me going."

*pictured below is a sample from her vitamin and supplement line*

Reflections from Rockwell

Most unexpected lesson – Discovering the gut-brain connection and the role of environment, diet, and vitamin C deficiency in neurodegenerative disease.

Favorite guiding principle – “It’s like detective work for your health, with a microscope zoomed in on how everything is connected.”

Dr. Peninah Wood’s journey is a testament to courage, resilience, and reinvention. In leaving behind the security of a six-figure career, she gained something even more powerful:

The chance to change lives through hope, healing, and joy. It's never too late!

Dr. Wood's business is dedicated to Simcha the service dog, her son who passed away, and her surviving son. 

Connect with Dr. Wood: 

✔️ www.simchahealthcare.com

✔️ Check out her 7 (that's right – 7) books on Amazon 

Ready to share your story?

Peninah’s evolution from grieving mother to functional and nutritional medicine practitioner reveals the power of turning loss into a soul-driven mission.

We know you have your own story of transformation and evolution.

Whether your journey led you from patient to practitioner, brought you to education and mentorship, or shaped your unique approach to clinical practice, we'd love to shine a light on your path and inspire our community in a Sunday Spotlight feature.

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