Our Providers

Dr. R. Lynn Carlson, MD:

Since the age of three, Dr. R. Lynn Carlson has spent the majority of his life in Alaska. He spent his summers fishing on his family’s beach set-net site and, after school and sports in the winter he and his brothers would weld aluminum fishing boats with his father to sell to other fishermen. He always enjoyed science, and pursued his medical education at the University of Washington. All through medical school and residency, Dr. Carlson helped to fund his education by captaining his fishing boat, the “Connie Jeanne”, during the salmon run each year in Bristol Bay, Alaska.

Dr. Carlson completed his residency in Emergency Medicine in Pennsylvania. Soon after he finished, he and his family moved back to the Kenai and he started practicing medicine in his home town. Dr. Carlson has a passion for preventive medicine and focuses on keeping you healthy as well as treating your immediate illness. He is also Emergency Medicine Board Certified.  With his experience, he plays a big part in our urgent care portion of the clinic.

Dr. Carlson has been in practice at the MediCenter for 21 years and enjoys the friendships he has gained with those whom he has served and looks forward to meeting and serving others as well.

Dr. Samuel Schurig DO :

Dr. Samuel Schurig has been with the MediCenter for over four years. He is a long time Alaskan, having come to the state in 1983 with the Air Force. He transferred to the Air National Guard in 1986, and because of his love for the state he opened a private practice in Eagle River. He loves the outdoors and spending time with his family, which is partly why he understands the importance of his role in practicing Family and Osteopathic Medicine.

Dr. Schurig loves taking care of families and their medical needs. He also takes a special interest in diabetes and the metabolic problems which accompany it. As an Osteopath, Dr. Schurig has a great deal of experience with bone and joint problems and Osteopathic Manipulative Therapy. He also is very skilled in removing unwanted moles, cysts, warts and lipomas.

Dr. Ardis Fisch, MD

Ardis Fisch graduated from Indiana University School of Medicine in 1994. She went on to complete a Family Practice residency at Hunterdon Medical Center in Flemington, NJ. During medical school she conducted research on “The Recognition of Depression by Family Practice Physicians,” which received the Indiana University Outstanding Clinical Research Award.

Prior to medical school, Ardis Fisch attended college in Israel for two years, where she also worked at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem conducting research. She returned to the United States, where she graduated with Honors from Douglass College at Rutgers University.

After completing residency, she moved to Barrow, AK, on the Arctic Ocean. She served as the Maternal Child Health Coordinator during her tenure there. After leaving Barrow, she practiced in different parts of Alaska and around the country for four years, doing locum tenens (short-term assignments). During that time, Dr. Fisch had the opportunity to work on several Indian reservations, as well as in more traditional settings. She also volunteered at a bush clinic in rural Ghana where they had never had a doctor before, and many of the patients had never even seen a Caucasian.

Ardis moved to the Berkshires in 2001 and joined Family Practice Associates in Pittsfield, where she worked for five years. She has done training through the American College for the Advancement of Medicine, The Institute for Functional Medicine and The American Board of Holistic Medicine. She is a Diplomate of the American Academy of Family Practice, and has been board certified since 1997.  In 2004, she received the “Excellence in Primary Care Award” from Blue Cross of Massachusetts. She continues to be affiliated with Berkshire Medical Center, where she has had hospital privileges since 2001. She served as the Medical Director of Hospice at Springside Nursing Home in Pittsfield, Massachusetts in 2005.

After incorporating a holistic approach to medicine into a traditional western medical practice for a number of years, Ardis decided that she preferred a setting that would be committed to identifying causes of illness instead of treating symptoms. She began Essential Health, a solo practice focusing on complementary medicine in 2004, before joining Dr. Mark Hyman at The UltraWellness Center in Lenox, Massachusetts in 2006. She maintained her association with The UltraWellness Center until 2008, when she chose to return to private practice.

Ardis has trained in multiple forms of energy healing. She also studied acupuncture in China, and although she does not incorporate it into her practice, she recommends acupuncture and many other forms of complementary therapies.

Ardis has traveled extensively around the world, and has been lucky enough to be exposed to many different cultures of medicine. She believes that this has given her a particular style and sensitivity that is often lacking in other medical practices.  Ardis is able to combine a strong clinical background in western medicine with a commitment to “a different paradigm” — treating root causes of disease, while maintaining a sensitivity to different belief systems.

Dr. Fisch is a member of the Southern Berkshire Medical Reserve Corp and contributes her time to Volunteers in Medicine, a free clinic for the underserved. Dr. Fisch is also an associate professor at the Mind Body Medical Institute, where she teaches functional medicine to masters and doctoral students.

Several of her travel medical adventures were published in the Berkshire Medical Journal. In addition to writing short stories, Ardis works as a lyricist and enjoys travel photography. She recently completed an exhibit on “The Medicinal Uses of Charcoal” which is on display in Guido Historical Mine Museum in Poland, for which she received an award from the mayor of the city

Dr. Raymond is a board certified family practice physician as well as a board certified diplomat of sleep medicine. Dr. Raymond was born and raised in the great state of Alaska and has a true passion for patient care.

GEMMA SMITH, MSN, FNP-C:

 Do you need a female care provider? Come meet Gemma Smith, our female care and pediatric provider at the MediCenter! Gemma Smith has been helping women and children on the peninsula for years at the Kenai Public Health Center and has recently finished additional schooling and training to serve you in her new capacity as your primary female care and small children health provider in the Kenai area. Before her additional schooling and training, Gemma has had years of experience in female care and small children’s health and her knowledge base on the matter is extensive. Gemma is a champion for women and children and is completely dedicated to your becoming and staying independently healthy and happy. Although her special interest is in women’s health and childcare, she thoroughly enjoys taking care of the whole family, so, men, you don’t have to worry about finding someone else, but if you feel the need to, we have several other providers to choose from at the MediCenter. If you would like to make an appointment with Gemma Smith, please call (907) 283-9118 today! MediCenter, your place for female care, children’s health, and comprehensive family care on the peninsula.

Dr. Corey Johnson, MD:

Dr. Johnson was certified by the American board of Phlebology (ABPH) in July 2008. This was the charter class for the ABPH making Dr Johnson one of only 248 physicians nationwide to be granted this credential as a specialist in Phlebology. To become board certified an applicant must complete the requisite training and experience qualifications, meet the continuing medical education requisites, and pass a stringent certification examination. Dr Johnson, who is also board-certified in Family Medicine, received specialty training in Phlebology in 2006 in North Carolina working with Dr Ty Bell and Dr Laura Ellis. Dr. Ellis is a published author and pioneer in the field who also sits on the editorial advisory board of Vein Therapy News.

The field of Phlebology is relatively new, receiving status as an independent specialty by the American Medical Association in 2005. Consequently, formal residency training programs have not yet been created by medical schools or universities and board certification was not offered until the exam became available in May of 2008. The recent explosion in interest in Phlebology by physicians and patients has been in large part due to advances in ultrasound diagnosis and laser therapy–which have dramatically simplified and improved the results of treatment of varicose vein disease.

Leon Richard, MS in Physical Therapy:

Leon Richard, MSPT is now actively heading up our new Physical Therapy Department. Leon Richard earned his Masters of Science in Physical Therapy with Honors from Husson College in Maine. Through many of his life experiences in firefighting, law enforcement, weightlifting, martial arts and many other strenuous physical activities, Leon gained an appreciation for the human body and a passion for thoroughly understanding how it works.   We are proud to state that there are many patients and providers that would willingly give excellent testimonials on the success he and his patients have had together in improving their physical lives. Being that he works in the health industry, he is a firm believer in working himself out of a job. If he doesn’t feel that you are improving with his services, he’ll be the first to bring it up and suggest a change. Leon is results oriented when it comes to your health and at the same time gentle enough to help ensure a comfortable, fast recovery.

Dr. Paul Raymond, MD

Dr. Raymond is a board certified family practice physician as well as a board certified diplomat of sleep medicine. Dr. Raymond was born and raised in the great state of Alaska and has a true passion for patient care. Dr. Paul Raymond and Dr. Lynn Carlson went to Kenai Central High School together and have teamed together to practice the best and most affordable sleep medicine around to give back to the community they grew up in.  Dr. Raymond also works as a board certified sleep physician throughout the state and only works with Sleep Technichians that have the highest quality studies and are the best in patient care.