Hi everybody!

I am extremely excited to announce the opening of GrassRoots Functional Medicine! My name is Seth Osgood, and I am the founder and lead practitioner at GrassRoots Functional Medicine. I wanted to begin by telling you a little bit about myself, giving you a quick introduction to the practice, and discussing the services we offer and the goals I hope to achieve through GrassRoots Functional Medicine.

A LITTLE ABOUT MYSELF:

My journey started in the small town of Corinth, Vermont. I took an interest in healthcare relatively early in life working as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) for our town’s local ambulance service while in high school. I moved to Austin, Texas to work for Austin Travis County EMS after graduating with a degree as a Paramedic. After working in Emergency Medicine for several years, I wanted to further my knowledge and experience in health care, so I enrolled in nursing school. My career in nursing started in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Austin’s local Level 1 trauma center where I worked as a charge nurse and was a member of the hospital’s critical response team responding to emergent situations in the hospital. Caring for patients as a paramedic and ICU nurse, I started to realize the magnitude of devastation that chronic illness was having on our society, much of which could have been prevented. Determined to help alleviate the burden of chronic disease, I became a Family Nurse Practitioner with the intention of working in Primary Care. Halfway through my nurse practitioner program, my mother turned me on to the concept of Functional Medicine. She had suffered from chronic health issues for as long as I can remember – visiting multiple medical providers – all of whom left her with no answers and piles of ineffective prescriptions. She eventually found a Functional Medicine Practitioner who ultimately turned her life around. Intrigued by her rapid improvement after so many years of suffering, I attended a seminar on Functional Medicine and was instantly hooked! From there, I sought out every Functional Medicine educational opportunity I could find and eventually became an Institute of Functional Medicine (IFM) Certified Practitioner. After graduating as a Nurse Practitioner, I worked at Vital Life Wellness Center, a Functional Medicine Family Practice, and then spent the most recent phase of my career working and training at Austin Ultra Health, the clinic of Functional Medicine Expert Dr. Amy Myers. It was at Austin UltraHealth where I worked with patients from around the world with complex medical conditions, helping them to achieve optimal health through a Functional Medicine approach. To expand the reach of Functional Medicine, I created GrassRoots Functional Medicine.

On a personal note, I am extremely blessed with an amazing wife who has been incredibly supportive in allowing me to pursue my dream of opening a Functional Medicine practice. I am a proud father of four beautiful children Hadley, Rhyder, Rhett, and the newest addition to the family Harper.

SO WHAT IS FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE?

For those who are not familiar with functional medicine, the Institute of Functional Medicine (IFM), who is the international leader of Functional Medicine Education, describes the Functional Medicine model as an individualized, patient-centered, science-based approach that empowers patients and practitioners to work together to address the underlying causes of disease to promote optimal wellness. It relies on a detailed understanding of each patient’s genetic, biochemical, and lifestyle factors and leverages that data to direct personalized treatment plans that lead to improved patient outcomes. The current conventional medicine model suffers from several shortcomings that Functional Medicine is successfully overcoming. One particular problem is the fact that the conventional model is extremely reactive in nature. Health conditions and symptoms are not addressed until they meet a specific set of diagnostic criteria. Furthermore, when these criteria are met, there is little to no education or advice given to people on how to reverse or prevent further deterioration. The symptoms are simply managed with a pharmaceutical that prolongs the inevitable.  Functional Medicine differs from the conventional model in that its practitioners and patients work together as partners to address the root cause of the disease rather than place a Band-Aid on symptoms. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying medications are not ever necessary; in fact, I prescribe them quite often. Instead of jumping straight to a pharmaceutical for every symptom, however, the Functional Medicine approach strives to correct the root causes of problems through the least invasive and most holistic methods in an attempt to optimize health and reduce pharmaceutical dependence.

Another way the Functional Medicine experience is different from the conventional approach is in how appointments are conducted. Understanding your story is essential to identifying the source of problems. Lifestyle influences like stressors, traumas, illnesses, and exposures are often key factors that predispose or trigger poor health. As opposed to the 10-minute visit you typically get at the doctor’s office, the first visit at GrassRoots Functional Medicine is at least 80 minutes, and your entire health history is reviewed from birth to present. We will examine every important aspect of your life that may have impacted your health so that we can work together to reverse the factors that are hindering recovery. A physical exam and comprehensive laboratory analysis will also be conducted in an attempt to correct imbalances, reduce inflammation, and optimize physiology.

As always, I have written way too much! As you may have guessed, I am extremely passionate about Functional Medicine and helping people achieve a life filled with physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. I look forward to sharing information with you every week that enhances your health and hopefully helps you to aid others in their journey as well. You can find out more about myself, the practice, and the people who may benefit from a Functional Medicine consult by visiting our website at: www.GrassRootsFunctionalMedicine.com If you are struggling with health issues that you feel would benefit from a Functional Medicine approach, please schedule an appointment by calling our office at (888)-644-ROOT (7668). You can also email the clinic at info@GrassRootsFM.com.

Wishing you exceptional health,

Dr. Seth Osgood DNP, FNP-BC, IFM-CP