Healing Bodies, Restoring Balance: The Journey of the Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine in Charleston, SC

The practice was established in 1978 and was founded by Dr. Allan D. Lieberman (Retired). Starting in private practice as a Pediatrician in the early 1970’s he realized that patients were not getting better with strictly conventional treatments and also presenting with sometimes unusual symptoms. The longer he practiced and the more he learned about how the environment and exposures affect your health, the more he became convinced there must be a better way to treat. He learned about Environmental Medicine and shifted into this field, which, despite having been around since the late 1940’s was at the time not well known. As the practice evolved, more integrative care was introduced, and eventually, Functional Medicine was included.

COEM, or the Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine, has been about finding the root cause of health concerns since 1978. Equally important is the promotion of wellness and preventive medicine. Taking into account a unique approach of looking at the allergic, toxic, infectious, and emotional loads that a patient carries, as well as their nutrition, COEM focuses on helping patients to find optimal health.

Since the beginning, COEM has been focused on caring, competency, and compassion. We value the input that patients come to us with. Nothing is done without informed consent and a true understanding of why a specific treatment is required and what the expected results can be. We treat patients as the human beings they are and not just another number.

COEM specializes in two things: toxicity due to chemical, heavy metal, mold, and adverse drug reactions, combined with a focus on treating children and adults on the spectrum with unique and state-of-the-science treatments.

Here at COEM, we take the time to ask the appropriate questions. Potential new patients generally spend 30 minutes or more asking questions prior to booking a new patient appointment. Then, once booked, they go through an extensive medical history from the day of birth until the present. Prior to the appointment, an intake is done to review that information and seek out any further pertinent information that has not been shared. On the day of the appointment, the physician has already had a chance to get acquainted with the particulars of the case and prepare for the interaction. This results in a deeper patient–doctor relationship and better results.

Each day is structured according to the work that staff are expected to do and perform either in preparation for appointments or while providing care. What is unique is the various types of concerns we address and the cultural differences we encounter with patients since we see individuals from literally all walks of life and from all over the United States and even internationally.

At COEM, we care a lot. You are a real person with real health concerns. We work hard to gain your trust and to provide you with a detailed treatment plan that is well thought out and properly explained. You are in the driver’s seat as to what you will do and how you will proceed with your care. Of course, compliance is important if you want to see results.

We have been treating patients from all over the world for close to 50 years now. The satisfaction of patients feeling ‘heard’ and seeing results, as well as the many warm personal referrals we get from patients and physicians, is our greatest testament to what we do.

Three Words to Describe COEM:

Caring, Competent, and Compassionate

We listen intently, we answer questions appropriately, and we provide transparency in everything we do. Patients often comment on how thorough we are compared to other practices they have been to.

Almost everyone who works at COEM has at one time or another experienced an environmental exposure much like our patients. Struggling with more advanced food allergies or gut dysbiosis is a common concern staff experience and can relate to patients with. When you are a caring person to begin with, it is easy to relate to others. Even more so when you have gone through some of the same things they are experiencing, whether it be issues with hypo or hyperthyroid conditions, autoimmune disorders, or women’s health concerns. We treat our patients the way we would want to be treated because we, too, have experienced practices and providers who are cold and disconnected or who do not explain anything and bark orders at you. COEM is different. We truly care for our patients. It’s the reason we see 3 and 4 generations of the same family when they have medical concerns pop up!

COEM has treated over 10,000 patients in the last 33 years.

Like most physicians, one might suppose, Dr. Stephen P. Elliott’s initial interest in medicine was born years ago from both a love of science and a passion for people. He recalls one particular night in his third year of medical school when, as he stood exhausted in the middle of the night on a general surgery rotation, he was asked a similar question.

There, for hours, while retracting an open abdomen to provide adequate visibility for the head-of-department surgeon, he was posed this question: “What kind of physician do you want to be?” The politically correct answer in the moment, he understood after the fact, was, “Why, he wants to be a general surgeon, of course.” Sadly, he believes he disappointed the surgeon when he simply responded: “A good one.”

This moment led him to this: His interest in and passion for Functional and Integrative Medicine was born in part by:

• An ever-expanding fund of medical knowledge

• An ever-growing and insatiable curiosity to pursue the question “Why?” rather than just “What?”

• An ever-evolving frustration with the constraints and “standard of care” he found himself dealing with in Conventional Medicine.

Dr. Elliott would argue that the conventional “Health Care” model is actually not that at all, but rather a “Disease Care” model. Rather than approach health as something to be supported and maintained, the conventional model waits for something bad to happen (i.e., a disease develops, like hypertension, diabetes, and so on), which then triggers a “Standard of Care” recipe/protocol designed to “treat” that disease.

Today, with the diagnostic tools and more natural treatment strategies of Functional and Integrative Medicine, his passion for medicine is stronger than ever. He simply loves what he does. His motivations? Improved health. Restored wellness. In short, results.

Dr. Stephen P. Elliott, MD, D.A.B.F.M., F.A.A.A.M., has been practicing medicine for nearly 30 years. He initially began his career as an ordained pastor, serving for ten years, before returning to his true passion for medicine. After graduating from the Indiana University School of Medicine, Dr. Elliott started in Family Practice, eventually transitioning to a more holistic approach to healthcare. He became certified in Anti-Aging Medicine and has completed extensive coursework in Functional Medicine.

In 2023, he joined the Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine to be able to work with other like-minded physicians.

• FMAPS Fellowship, 2025
• Institute of Functional Medicine, 2013 — various clinical modules completed
• American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, 2007 — 2009
• Basic Fellowship Program coursework completed, December 2008
• Written Board Exam completed, April 2008
• Oral Board Exam completed, December 2008
• Achieved Diplomate status, May 2009
• Ball Memorial Hospital Family Practice Residency Program, Muncie, IN, July 1996 – June 1999
• Chief Resident 1998-1999
• Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, August 1992 – May 1996 (degree: M.D.)
• Duke University Divinity School, Durham, NC, August 1980 – May 1983 (degree: M.Div., Magna Cum Laude)
• DePauw University, Greencastle, IN, January 1977 – May 1980 (degree: BA in Mathematics and Economics, Summa Cum Laude)