Mary Martin-Vavra FNP, NP-C
Direct Primary Care Provider
I began my nursing career in 2005 while working as a surgical scrub technician on the neuro-trauma team at an upstate New York hospital, it was during this time of caring for the sick and injured that l had felt my calling to care for others and help improve a person’s health and thus began my education in nursing. I graduated with my Bachelors in Nursing in 2007 from the State University of New York at Binghamton. I worked in many different areas of nursing for 6 years while working on my Master’s Degree in Nursing and Family Practice. I graduated from Binghamton University in 2013 with my MSN/FNP and earned my National Certification soon after.
Over the course of almost 10 years, I have practiced in Primary Care, Nephrology as well as Cardiology. Although I enjoyed practicing in Primary Care the most, I always felt there was little time for educating patients to have true knowledge of their bodies, why they have a certain diseases, what their symptoms mean and getting to the root cause of their illness.
Just over one year ago, I found my true passion for helping people learn more about their health and illness using functional, integrative and holistic approaches and not just diagnosing disease and prescribing medications for their symptoms. I am currently finishing my training in Integrative Medicine and will soon be Certified as an Integrative Health Practitioner. It was through my integrative medicine interest that I was fortunate enough to meet Dr Benton and feel blessed that I have found such a perfect fit to practice. I am looking forward to helping patients use alternative approaches to primary care and getting to the root cause of disease and illness which is really where true healing can happen. As a partner in your health and wellness, I feel our relationship and trust are the most important aspects to achieve a healthier and happier life.
I am so excited to start this new chapter of my life in North Carolina with Dr Benton and staff, while certainly enjoying the southern hospitality and warmer weather. In my spare time, you can find me, reading, cooking, gardening, walking as well as oil and watercolor painting. I am looking forward to making the Huntersville North Carolina area our new home with my husband and beautiful springer spaniel JoJo and perhaps even enticing other family members to join us in this beautiful area of North Carolina!