I was raised in Europe, Germany to be specific. Needless to say I along with everyone else in my peer group took up a smoking habit in my late teens. Although I ate a very healthy diet, thanks to my dad, I was always getting sick. My smoking habit resulted in waking up one day with severe chest pain. I was determined to quit smoking and restore my body to optimal health. In order to not gain weight, I took on training for a marathon. I remember running on the first day and not making it to the end of the street. The damage I had done to my body was evident and I was determined to reverse it. Our body is a complex system that is influenced by so many factors such as diet, environment, genetics and lifestyle. I completed my first marathon six months later. That is when I became acutely aware that given the proper tools, our bodies have an amazing ability to heal themselves.

I had over 15 years of clinical experience as a nurse before I became a Nurse Practitioner. I will always cherish my years of working with HIV/AIDS and cancer patients. They taught me so much about the strength and perseverance of the human body and spirit. Years of watching patients cycle through a system that is mostly profit driven and forces physicians to practice mass-produced, assembly line medicine made me realize that I could not in good conscience practice in such a setting. Don’t get me wrong, conventional medicine is unsurpassed in diagnostics and treating acute disease . The conventional medical model falls short in the treatment of chronic disease such as heart disease, diabetes, auto-immune disease and many others. Functional medicine looks to understand all the many factors that influence our health; getting at the root cause of illness and how lifestyle and environment interact with our genes to create the imbalances or balances that influence our health.

I have extensive training through the Institute of Functional Medicine (IFM) and the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS). I recently completed my fellowship through the American Board of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M). Having worked in health care for many years has taught me that the current system neither promotes health or provides good care any longer. Most providers don’t have the luxury of spending time getting to know the patient. Good food is good medicine and bad food is bad medicine. I have seen it work first hand not only for my patients but also for myself. Over a third of American adults are obese and obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescent in the past 30 years. Diet related illness is costing over 250 billion dollars per year and we are sicker as a country than ever.
My approach to health and wellness includes identifying elements of your life that influence the course of illness and health. Genetics play a significant role in our overall health. I believe that our genes load the gun and the environment and our lifestyle pulls the trigger. I focus on wellness, prevention and creating a self-care plan that supports healing with the use of dietary, nutritional and occasionally pharmaceutically appropriate interventions. We are much more than merely our symptoms. Our bodies are designed to heal themselves, given the proper tools.

EXPERIENCE:
BS Nursing Sage College, Albany, NY – Summa Cum Laude
Masters of Science Nursing Adult Nurse Practitioner Sage College Albany, NY
Stram Center for Integrative and Functional Medicine – Delmar, NY
Hudson Valley Center For Healing Arts – Dr. Richard Horowitz
University of Colorado Bone Marrow Transplant/Oncology – Denver, Colorado
Illinois Masonic HIV/AIDS – Chicago, Illinois
St Peter’s Hospital Outpatient Cancer Care Center – Albany, NY
Board Certified Adult Nurse Practitioner ANCC
ILADS (International Lyme and Associated Disease Society) Member
IFM (Institute of Functional Medicine) Member
A4M Fellow

OFFERING:
Comprehensive treatment for Lyme and tick borne disease
Nutrition and Lifestyle management including stress reduction and weight loss
Disease and diagnostic assessment: Acute and Chronic Illness
Treatment: holistic, whole person approach including prudent pharmaceutical intervention, safe and effective natural botanical medicine and nutrition therapies
Adrenal dysfunction, Mold and Biotoxin treatment, Thyroid dysfunction, Diabetes, Allergies and Food Sensitivities and Autoimmune disease
Bio Identical Hormone Rebalancing