FRISCO — Mountain River Naturopathic Clinic, a holistic medicine practitioner clinic in Frisco, welcomes a new naturopathic doctor, Dr. Eryn Scott, in January. Scott specializes in family medicine.
Dr. Scott earned her doctorate in naturopathic medicine from Bastyr University in Seattle before completing her two-year residency at a pediatric and family medicine practice near Seattle. Dr. Scott then made the move with her husband to Summit County, where she grew up coming to ski as a child living on the front range. Dr. Scott reached out to local doctors, asking how others had gotten into the profession within the area. She reached out to Dr. Kimberly Nearpass and Dr. Justin Pollack, owners of Mountain River Naturopathic Clinic, who happened to be looking for a new doctor to add to their clinic.
Dr. Scott said the partners were looking to bring on another doctor both because they had a busy practice and wanted to be able to maintain and bring in new patients, as well as to update their own breadth of information. Since Dr. Scott is more recently trained in naturopathy and had a wealth of new information, she made a perfect fit. Dr. Scott also added new specialties to the practice as she focuses on pediatrics, post-delivery care and mental and emotional health.
As someone interested in holistic medicine during her undergraduate degree at Fort Lewis College in Durango, as well as a college student who enjoyed working with kids as a nanny and pre-school teacher, family practice made sense as a career for Dr. Scott.
“When I found naturopathic medicine it combines herbal medicine and working with kids and families and I just love working with kids,” Scott said.
Teaching kids what it means to be healthy and teaching the next generation how to feel good in their bodies is something Dr. Scott is extremely passionate about.
“I love to see kids and have them come in and be excited or get over those fears of being in a doctors office. To see them get excited about, ‘hey, I tried a new vegetable!” Scott said.
Scott said that she sees the impact on children as they learn more about their health and relay to her what they’ve learned about themselves and how they’ve used what they’ve learned to help themselves as well as others.
“I really love that the naturopathic approach is based on the whole person,” Scott said. “I love that it’s a way to help people in a very different way and build relationships.”
As for the differences Dr. Scott has seen between practicing in Seattle versus Summit County, she said the biggest difference is in the scope of her practice. In Seattle, naturopathic doctors are considered primary care physicians. They are able to prescribe non-herbal medicine and are listed on people’s medical insurance. However, in Colorado, naturopaths are not considered primary care physicians and are not listed on insurance, so they act as more of a compliment to primary care, according to Dr. Scott. Despite this barrier, Dr. Scott said she feels much more comfortable in the area.
“It feels more like home and like my tribe and that community that I just really connect with,” Scott said.
Dr. Scott also mentioned how elevation has impacted her work, saying it was a learning curve for her to understand what a healthy oxygen level was for someone living in Summit County. She said that the oxygen levels for a healthy individual here in Summit County are much lower than she was used to seeing in Seattle. Dr. Scott also said she has to be more mindful about oxygen supplementation as it is more often necessary for children who develop infections that impact their lungs or in postpartum care.
In addition to working with children themselves, Dr. Scott says she is very passionate about postpartum care. She specializes in postpartum depression and anxiety as well as breastfeeding, helping new mothers re-align with their goals for feeding their babies.
Dr. Scott is at the clinic Monday through Thursday and is currently accepting new patients.