Where are you from originally and how long have you lived in Connecticut?
I grew up in the Mid Hudson Valley about 40 minutes away from my current home. I stayed local for college and attended Marist College before moving to Long Island for medical school. I completed my internal medicine residency training at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn after which I was asked to stay on as Chief Resident. I completed my gastroenterology training at Lenox Hill Hospital. In fact, it was during my search for homes in Westchester at the start of my fellowship that I first learned about this quaint town in Connecticut with great schools called Ridgefield! After finishing my fellowship I moved to Binghamton, NY to work in an underserved community where I practiced for four years. I moved to Ridgefield this past June.
How many children do you have? Ages?
I have three boys. Gavin is 8 and in third grade. Thomas is 7 and is in first grade. Colin is 4 and is in Pre-K.
Tell us about your practice and what services and treatments you specialize in?
I am a gastroenterologist at Nuvance Health with offices in Danbury and New Milford. I specialize in colon cancer screening and prevention with a special interest in irritable bowel syndrome, liver disease, gastrointestinal motility disorders, and inflammatory bowel disease. I am trained in colonoscopy, endoscopy and video capsule endoscopy.
In May 2021 the recommended colon cancer screening was changed from 50 years to 45 years. While this recommendation change is well over a year old, I continue to see patients who were previously unaware of this. This change was made because, unfortunately, colon cancer is now being found in a much younger population. Colonoscopy is the best screening tool for colon cancer in my patients. I can prevent them from ever getting cancer by evaluating for and removing precancerous lesions.
What is your best health advice can you give to busy moms?
The best health advice I can give busy moms is to not neglect your own physical and mental health. You can’t be everything to anyone unless you give yourself what you need first. This may seem like a huge task, but I find it is doing little things consistently that make the biggest difference in your overall health.
First, take care of your mental health. Our gut is directly linked to our central nervous system via the brain-gut axis. Therefore stress, anxiety, and depression all directly impact our gut health. If you tense up, so does your gut!
Second, get moving! If you’re sluggish, so is your gut. Realistically I aim for 3 days of exercise per week, I work full time with 3 boys in activities so for right now this is all I can do. I use the weekends to do 30-40 minutes of cardio. Sometimes I walk, sometimes I run, but I tell myself something is better than nothing. Then I pick one day per week to get in that third workout.
Third, try to incorporate diverse fruits and veggies into your diet. They offer lots of diverse probiotics in addition to being packed with vitamins and minerals. All great things for your gut!
Fourth, if you use tobacco products, stop. This is linked to increased risk of colon cancer.
How has this community been instrumental in developing this initiative/business venture and how can others help to support your mission?
In my short time so far in Ridgefield I have met so many warm and welcoming families, whether it be through work, school or after school activities. That sense of community is felt whether you stroll down Main Street or sit in line at morning school drop off. It is what we all came to Ridgefield for, and I thank you for confirming that this dream of Ridgefield living was worth the wait.
Schedule your consolation with Kelly via the Nuvance Health patient portal or via office at 203-739-7038