Dr. Timothy Burns was born and raised in Clinton, Iowa. He obtained his medical degree at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. Dr. Burns moved to Spokane where he did his residency at the University of Washington, Family Medicine Spokane. In 1989, he started working at Ironwood Family Practice. He has been practicing Family Medicine for 33 years. He sees a wide variety of patients from newborns to the elderly with a special interest with problems of the skin. He has been involved with the training of Family Medicine resident physicians in the area for the past 7 years and is part of the faculty at the University of Washington. When Dr. Burns isn’t practicing medicine, he enjoys taking advantage of living in the great NW by playing golf, fishing, boating, biking, or other outdoor activities. . He is the proud father of 4 wonderful, loving, and intelligent young adults.

Dr. Hollie Mills was born in Dallas, Texas and raised in Southern Colorado.  She obtained her bachelor’s degree at Colorado State University-Pueblo and attended medical school at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.  She completed her residency at Kootenai Health Coeur d’Alene Family Medicine Residency graduating in June of 2017. While in residency she was recruited to Ironwood Family Practice and upon her graduation she was able to continue caring for her patients.  She enjoys taking care of all ages of patients in all different stages of life. She goes to the hospital to see her newborns after they are born and is honored to visit her hospice patients in their homes. Outside of clinic she enjoys all things outdoors, painting, reading, and spending time with her husband, family, friends and their two dogs.

Dr. Mark Walsworth grew up in Homer,– a small fishing town in the South-Central Alaska. Dr. Walsworth enjoys spending time with his wife, Megan, and daughter, Amelia. In his free time, he can either be found baking desserts, enjoying the outdoors, or playing a wide variety of sports. His family consider themselves avid musicians – along with his brothers they have formed a a barbershop quartet and when their father joins in, a brass quintet. Dr. Walsworth graduated in May 2019 from Loma Linda University School of Medicine in Southern California. There, he developed a strong desire to incorporate whole person care into a full-spectrum, rural practice. Born and raised in rural Alaska, Dr. Walsworth has a strong desire to work in a small community and emphasize the importance of public health, preventive medicine, and patient-centered care.

Aaron Drapeau was born and raised in Post Falls, Idaho and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Idaho in 2012. Chasing his desire to work in the medical field and help others, he went on to earn a bachelors in nursing in Phoenix, Arizona.

Aaron has spent the last four years working primarily as an IMCU and cardiac RN at Kootenai Health. He obtained his masters degree in nursing and Family Nurse Practitioner Certification in 2022. He is excited about his new opportunities at Ironwood Family Practice. He has a passion for health and wellness and he looks forward to providing quality care and education to the members of his community.

In his spare time, Aaron enjoys various outdoor pursuits as well as spending time with his wife, their three beautiful daughters and golden retriever Ruby.

Tara Avriett was born and raised in North Idaho, graduating from Post Falls High School. This community has always been important to her, and she knew early on that she wanted to give back to the community that raised her. This led her to a career in healthcare.

Tara started her healthcare career as a Licensed Practical Nurse, serving in the Urgent Care and Family Practice settings. This is when she first joined the Ironwood Family Practice team, working as Dr. Burns’ primary nurse until 2014, and then as a part-time float nurse through 2017.

Over the next couple of years, Tara would go on to pursue her Registered Nurse license from North Idaho College as she soaked up time with her growing family. With her RN license in hand, she worked at Kootenai Health on the surgical floor. Through her work in a hospital setting, she felt she was unable to make a significant difference in patient’s lives. She wanted to dive back into her studies to prevent illness and prevent patients from ending up in the hospital.

Tara returned to Ironwood Family Practice as a float nurse while she worked towards her master’s degree. In 2023, Tara graduated with her MSN Family Nurse Practitioner degree from Western Governors University and joined Ironwood Family Practice as a full-time Nurse Practitioner in March 2024. Tara is dedicated to family practice, offering compassionate care that focuses on the whole person to support the patient and their families through all stages of life, from birth to end of life.

Outside of work, Tara enjoys spending time with her husband of over 20 years and their four children. All four children are very active and keep Tara busy shuffling between sporting events and 4H commitments. If that was not enough, Tara also serves as a medic in the Air National Guard, retiring soon after 20 years of service! She draws on her military experience to enrich her patient care philosophy.