Kelly Jennings ND, MSOM
drjennings@urbanwellnesspdx.com
Dr. Kelly Jennings was born in the small university town of Stony Brook, NY, just minutes from the beach and an hour commute to New York City. She went to Amherst College in Massachusetts where she received a B.A. with Honors in Neuroscience. After a brief stint studying neurodevelopment at the University of California in San Francisco (where the labs were too lonely), followed by a longer period working with cancer patients in clinical trials at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City (where the medicine was too conservative), she finally found her calling in Portland, Oregon, at the National College of Natural Medicine. After six years of study Dr Jennings graduated valedictorian of her class and earned both a Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine and a Master of Science in Oriental Medicine.
Dr Jennings has mentored under some of the top integrative medical doctors in the country, including Dr Dickson Thom, Dr Heiner Freuhauf, Dr Arnaud Versluys and Dr Gerard Gueniot. She specializes in bio-therapeutic drainage – a unique system of individualized medicine based on systems biology - as well as Chinese herbal formula prescribing. She has won several writing awards, published a family cookbook and is currently hard at work as an editor on several medical journals. Her most recent publication is The Breast Cancer Companion, an integrative medical manual for practitioners who work with breast cancer patients.
Kelly is passionate about integrative and holistic medicine, an enthusiasm born of her personal experience with a chronic debilitating virus contracted during a year she spent doing ecological and herbal research in Ecuador. She sought the care of a Chinese doctor upon return to the States, whose first treatment consisted of changing her diet. With this memory of healing based on nutritional therapy and acupuncture and her continued exposure to the typical frustrating experience of standard healthcare in the US, she knew she was headed for a different kind of medical training. In an attempt to provide the highest level of care to each individual patient and help guide them on their path to optimal health, she relies on her comprehensive study, knowledge of and clinical experience with chinese medical and naturopathic diagnosis. She listens to your story and you know she cares.
Dr. Jennings provides primary and family medical care. Her specialties include:
Cancer Care – Alternative and Complementary
Digestive Health and Chronic Digestive Disorders
Women's Health
Musculoskeletal health and sports related injuries
Optimal sports performance
Functional medicine
Weight loss and nutritional counseling
Post-traumatic stress disorders
Optimal wellness programs
Other interests and skills include fluency in Spanish (most of her family lives in Chile), co-ed soccer, rock-climbing and running up Mt Tabor before everyone else in Portland wakes up. She has a strong meditation practice and loves doing yoga when she can fit it in!