Medical Director/Owner
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I was born in Anchorage, Alaska and grew up in Wasilla, Alaska from age 2 onward. I went from kindergarten through high school in Wasilla, and I've seen incredible change in the Mat-Su Valley since then.
I had 2 wonderful children before beginning medical school with a third at the end of the first year. I'm up to five now, and family is extremely important to my wife and me. I worked in restaurants during and after college from 1993 to 1998 as a dishwasher, busser, waiter and manager. I worked as a nurse aide at Providence Hospital as well from 1996 to 1998.
I have lots of "life experience", working and going to school full-time while having small children at home; at times working 2 jobs to support my family. I have been on food stamps, WIC, Denali Kidcare and other sources of government assistance and am extremely sensitive to the cost of medical care and the financial situation of my patients. I routinely save people money by finding cheaper (and safer) alternatives to expensive prescription drugs, avoiding the need for expensive tests and procedures, and often helping them get better overall; which reduces their health care costs overall.
I have had an intense interest in complementary and alternative medicine since before attending medical school, reading two of Andrew Weil's books in 1997. I have continued to ask difficult questions about health and wellness and pursue the answers in many directions, with ongoing education efforts. I learn something useful nearly every day and I always encourage my patients to check back with me repeatedly with their questions. I have found that listening to my patients is one of the best ways to learn; I encourage you to tell me anything you think is relevant and ask me any question you can think of.
I am a scientist at my core, and it amazes me just how UN-scientific modern American medicine really is! Most doctors will usually tell you that what you eat has little to do with your illness or symptoms, and almost never really address diet with a patient as a means to correct their problem. They are also trained to believe that taking vitamins is of no use and may actually be harmful, so they discourage the practice without really understanding the issue. Possibly worst of all, conventional doctors have no training in understanding the effects of environmental toxins or heavy metals and what to do about them. It's not their fault, but rather the fault of the current medical education system which is largely controlled by the pharmaceutical industry. My colleagues frequently comment to me that my methods don't conform to the accepted 'standard of care', and I generally respond 'that's because my standards are much higher than that.'
I have devoted years to studying nutrition and other methods of natural healing, always with a firm grounding in science and scrutiny of the available literature. If you mention a therapy or supplement that I don't know anything about I will not tell you it is bad, rather I will ask you to bring me any literature you have on it and try to learn as much as possible before giving my opinion. I have frequently had patients give me information on things I knew nothing about, and tell me new information about things I thought I knew well.
It did not take long for me to become disenchanted with conventional medicine and treating symptoms with drugs. The standard approach to medicine in the U.S. usually does not address the cause of illness at all, and often makes it worse over time. I am devoted to finding the underlying cause of a person's illness and correcting it in the most natural, harmless and cost-effective way possible. My role is to investigate, educate and encourage each person toward their health and wellness goals with appropriate intervention and treatment where necessary. I love a challenge, and my favorite thing to hear is: "I've been to 5 different doctors and none of them can figure out what's wrong with me!".
Mat-Su Integrative Medicine, LLC
545 N. Knik St., Unit B
Wasilla, Alaska 99654
Location Phone: 907-357-2322
Location Fax: 907-357-2397
Fax: 907-373-2133
Dr. Vincent received his B.S. in Biological Sciences from UAA in May 1996, graduating Magna Cum Laude.
He had a strong minor in Philosophy as well, receiving two semesters full tuition scholarship from this department during his last 2 years.
Dr. Vincent attended medical school at the University of Washington, consistently the top medical school in the nation, and finished near the top of his class of 182 students. He achieved 'Honors' designation in 22 out of 27 preclinical courses during the first 2 years, and won a special award for excellence in the study of anatomy during the first year WWAMI site in Alaska.
Thanks to the WWAMI program Dr. Vincent was able to spend most of the 3rd and 4th years in Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley for clinical training.
Dr. Vincent is a life-long Mat-Su Valley resident, and graduated from WHS in 1991. He has seen a lot of changes in the Valley since then.
Three year ACGME-accredited residency program with a strong experience in internal medicine, rural medicine and cross-cultural medicine. Dr. Vincent was Chief Resident during the last year of training and was chosen for a national teaching award by the faculty at graduation.
Training sites included Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, YKHC in Bethel, the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage, Providence Family Practice Clinic in Anchorage and various community physician offices in Anchorage, Wasilla and Talkeetna, Alaska.
Currently in the process of completing a fellowship in Environmental Medicine, should be completed in 2010.
Environmental Medicine involves identifying the role of toxins (ie heavy metals, pesticides, plasticizers, PCB's, household chemicals and food additives to name a few) in a person's health problems, and then helping them clear the toxins or overcome their effects.
There is advanced training in novel techniques of allergy elimination and chemical desensitization, hormone balance, detoxification and intravenous nutrition.
Dr. Vincent was involved with teaching medical students from the University of Washington that rotated through the clinic in Wasilla where he worked prior to creating Mat-Su Integrative Medicine.
He worked closely with medical students who were assigned to the site for a 5 month intensive training period, and was chosen by the national Medical Student Association to be a faculty facilitator at their annual retreat in 2007 based on the recommendation of the student from 2006.
Volunteer Faculty - Alaska Family Medicine Residency : 2005-ongoing
Dr. Vincent returns to the Anchorage residency program every year during their 'Transcultural Medicine' training sessions to teach topics such as acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, Reiki and integrative medicine.
This is very rewarding, and an opportunity to help encourage awareness and open-mindedness in more of our new physicians.
Chief Resident : 2004
Dr. Vincent was chosen to be Chief Resident during his 3rd year of residency training in Anchorage. This was a position that involved educational and administrative duties in addition to the medical training of the final year of residency. It is a position you are elected to by your peers and faculty. People are generally chosen for their medical knowledge and skill, interpersonal skills and perceived judgment abilities.
Dr. Vincent completed training for the cosmetic use of our Fotona Laser system, which can be used to treat vascular lesions such as varicose veins, treat severe acne, and remove wrinkles and sun damaged skin from the face and upper neck.
Dr. Vincent has completed training and attunement in Reiki levels I and II. Reiki is a form of energy-healing that has Japanese roots. Dr. Vincent does not charge for this service or perform it as a specific treatment in clinic, but uses the skills in patient interaction and as an adjunct to acupuncture treatment at times.
Chinese Herbal Medicine : 2006
This was a course also put on by Helms Medical Institute, specifically for graduates of the acupuncture training program. It involved an additional 40 hours of training in Chinese Herbs and their appropriate use in a Western Medicine setting.
Medical Acupuncturist : 2005
Dr. Vincent completed a 300 hour training course in medical acupuncture through UCLA during his 3rd year of residency.
This course is produced by Helms Medical Institute, and is the most respected and long-standing acupuncture training program for physicians in the country. The state of Alaska only requires 220 hours of training, but this course fulfills the highest requirements of all states in the US.
The ABFM is the governing body for certification of Family Medicine physicians. You must complete an accredited 3 year Residency in Family Medicine to be eligible to take the board exam, and re-examination is required every 7 years currently.
Dr. Vincent took the board exam in July of 2005, 6 weeks after completion of his Residency training, and scored in the 99th percentile nationwide. This means his mastery of conventional family medicine was in the top 1% of all family medicine trained physicians who took the exam in 2005 across the country including other new graduates and seasoned physicians alike.
The AAEM trains physicians to deal with the health effects of the toxic burden in our modern world.
They have pioneered methods of detoxification, nutritional therapy, allergy and chemical sensitivity elimination and management.
Dr. Vincent is currently a Board Member for the AAEM, and will likely complete the fellowship in 2010.
American College For The Advancement Of Medicine : 2006
ACAM is probably THE founding organization for integrative medicine and has been actively teaching physicians to appropriately use medical nutrition therapy, heavy metals chelation, bioidentical hormone therapies and other natural and sensible healing methods for over two decades.
They are very dedicated to education and have a website that can be explored at: www.acam.org/
The Institute For Functional Medicine : 2006
A major organization promoting integrative medicine. They evaluate the scientific and clinical information available in the areas of medical nutrition, herbal medicine, general physiology and biochemistry and their role in health and disease. This is a group of physicians, biochemists, pharmacists, naturopaths, chiropractors and other practitioners who pursue healing through the maximization of the body's own function before using more potentially harmful methods.
Encountering the IFM has been instrumental in my own education and a change in my practice of medicine. Their website is very informative and can be found at www.functionalmedicine.org
American Academy of Family Practice : 2002
Largest professional organization of Family Physicians in the U.S.. Providing government relations, continuing education and practice management information.
This award was given to Dr. Vincent at graduation from residency training in Anchorage. It is an award given by the faculty to the one graduating resident who they felt was the best teacher to the other residents and interns.
Dr. Vincent absolutely loves to teach, and this was his proudest award ever. He has placed a dry-erase board on the wall in each exam room and tends to give 'mini lectures' to patients about their health issues to improve patient education.
Arthur Schaible Award for Excellence in Anatomy : 1999
This was a highly coveted award given to one member of the first year medical school class at the Alaska site for the best performance in anatomy including written exams, oral exams and dissection as well as overall cooperation and willingness to help others in the class.
