The Ultimate Swine Flu Survival Guide
Vincent M. Pedre III, MD
Dr. Vincent M. Pedre III was born in Miami, FL. Always an overachiever, he forewent a career as a concert pianist (in which he excelled as a teenager) to become a doctor. To this effect he completed his premed training at Cornell University in 1995, where he was honored as a Cornell National Scholar (the highest honor given to entering freshmen), receiving a B.A. in Biology with Distinction in all subjects, and graduating Phi Beta Kappa. He went on to receive his M.D. from the University of Miami School of Medicine in 1999, which he attended under a scholarship awarded by the Board of Trustees for his excellent work as an undergraduate and future promise as a doctor. Thereafter, his training brought him to New York City, where he completed a residency in Internal Medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 2002.
September 11, 2001 was a day that touched the hearts and souls of this country, New York City, and that of Dr. Pedre. Having completed his residency in the aftermath of 9/11 and feeling a strong connection to this tragedy, Dr. Pedre dedicated a year to researching the potentially toxic effects of the environmental pollutants on the recovery workers following the destruction of the twin towers. The World Trade Center Worker and Volunteer Medical Screening Program, which is ongoing at Mount Sinai Hospital in the Department of Community and Preventive Medicine, is an environmental medicine community project primarily focused on studying respiratory and psychiatric disease as a consequence of the disaster. Being a part of this project allowed Dr. Pedre to connect with those people who had to see the effects of this atrocity head on.
After The World Trade Center, Dr. Pedre changed his career path to go into private practice. Being in the trenches (so to speak), treating patients was where he wanted to be. He wanted to bring his dream of creating the ideal medical practice to fruition. Convinced that the ideal method of practicing medicine combines the strengths of both Eastern and Western methodology, Dr. Pedre attended a yoga teacher-training in 2002 to broaden his knowledge of Eastern philosophy, meditation and this ancient healing art. He incorporated that knowledge into the care of his patients.
Dr. Pedre could not find his dream in any existing practice in New York City, and instead of settling for less he made his vision reality and created Pedre Integrative Health in July 2004. To bring the broadest possible care and choices to his patients, he underwent additional specialty training in Medical Acupuncture from 2003 to 2004. He has treated countless patients with a combination of Western medicine and acupuncture since starting his practice in Manhattan in 2004.
Dr. Pedre utilizes an integrative approach to healthcare issues as he combines the best of Western medicine with an understanding of complementary Eastern approaches to health and well-being. This innovative branch of medicine has come to be known as Integrative Medicine. Another term that has been used is Functional Medicine. Its goal is to remain faithful to an evidence-based approach to the care of the patient, while still treating each person as a unique whole individual with not only physical, but also mental and spiritual needs. On any given day, Dr. Pedre may prescribe a combination of medications, natural remedies, vitamins and supplements as well as stress-reducing techniques, such as yoga and meditation.
During his initials years in practice, Dr. Pedre kept a blog journal of his experiences and thoughts on starting a solo medical practice as a primary care doctor. His blog, The Solo Practitioner, was quoted in the Wall Street Journal, “Faltering Family Physicians get Technology Lifeline,” February 23, 2007. Since then, Dr. Pedre has discontinued his blog in order to focus more on his practice and future projects.
Dr. Pedre has made several on-air appearances, including on MSNBC and the Telemundo weekend news (in Spanish). Most recently, he was a guest on The Martha Stewart Show, talking about important tests that everyone should get to prevent and diagnose disease in its early stages. Click here to read the article and view the clip.
In his first book, “The Ultimate Swine Flu Survival Guide,” Dr. Pedre strives to make sense of this pandemic for the lay person and healthcare professionals alike. The swine flu and the swine flu (H1N1) vaccine have been nothing less than controversial. By shedding light on this issue, he hopes that patients and healthcare workers will be able to make more informed decisions on what to do for themselves and their families. From his holistic perspective, he also discusses overlooked, evidence-based natural therapies that can either help prevent the swine flu or overcome it more quickly. Dr. Pedre believes that knowledge empowers patients to make better healthcare decisions.
Dr. Pedre is a Board-Certified Internist who practices in New York City’s Midtown East. He has been in private practice for over 5 years now. He is fluent in Spanish. He maintains hospital privileges and is voluntary faculty at Mount Sinai Medical Center, where he holds the title of Clinical Instructor in Medicine. His private practice is located at 120 East 56 Street, Suite 530, New York, NY 10022. (212) 860-8300. www.pedremd.com
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