Peter Kozlowski, M.D., is the owner of Emerald Coast Functional Medicine, in Fort Walton Beach. He is board certified in family medicine and has completed the coursework of the Institute of Functional Medicine, completing that board certification this spring. That achievement ranks Kozlowski among the first physicians worldwide to receive the accreditation.

He states, “The whole-body approach I take was inspired by a few of my idols and pioneers in medicine. During residency, I trained at the Chopra Center, in Carlsbad, California, which was founded by Deepak Chopra, M.D., and David Simon, M.D. While there, I had the privilege of working with patients from around the world as part of the medical consult team specializing in ayurvedic and functional medicine.”

Kozlowski also gained inspiration from Dr. Susan Blum, author of The Immune System Recovery Plan and founder of the Blum Center for Health, in Ryebrook, New York. “I also trained at the Ultra Wellness Center, in Lenox, Massachusetts, the Ultra Wellness Center, founded by Dr. Mark Hyman, director of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine and chairman of the board of the Institute of Functional Medicine, at the forefront of a transformation in healthcare. I hope to carry these experiences and my training to the Emerald Coast,” he states.

    Recruited by the Fort Walton Beach Medical Center from Chicago, where he finished his residency at St. Mary & Elizabeth’s Family Medicine Program, which is dedicated to family-centered and community-oriented care, this is Kozlowski’s first year of operating. “It is currently just my fiancé and I. Lauren operates as my office manager, nutritionist and patient liaison,” he says. “We both come from very close-knit families, so we understand the importance of family to health. Chronic disease is largely a lifestyle disease which takes the whole family to heal.” He speaks English, Spanish and Polish.

“I think the major guiding principle that we try to carry from our personal lives to our business is the law of karma,” says Kozlowski. “This is something that I learned from working at the Chopra center. By bringing happiness and success to others, we have found the same in return. What are the consequences of the choice I’m making? Will it bring it happiness? Your body should send messages of comfort. I encourage my patients to bring choices into conscious awareness. Imaginary obstacles are 90 percent of perceived obstacles, and when we practice present moment-by-moment awareness, they disappear.”

The doctor favors community education and giving a voice back to the patient, saying, “Too many patients get passed from one physician to the next and are told everything is normal and that nothing is wrong, when they know their body does not feel right.”

Kozlowski’s goal is to bring the forefront of medicine to this area. “There are so many forward-thinking people in this community, and it is a joy to share in their excitement when they hear they have a physician who will work with them,” he voices. “We believe in practicing good medicine and being honest, and allowing the rest of the pieces to fall into place. By taking the time to listen to our patients stories, we have helped people get better who did not think they had any alternatives.”

Kozlowski wants to create more programs for community members to connect and join together, because he knows that there is nothing more important to healing than connection. “My inspiration and vision for our center has come from working at some of the most successful integrative medicine clinics in the world,” says Kozlowski. “The goal is to create a center where the community can come for whole health.”

 

Emerald Coast Functional Medicine is located at 2010 Lewis Turner Blvd., in FWB. For more information, call 850-830-7517 or visit DocKoz.com.