Area physician dies of COVID-19

NAPLES — Dr. Clinton Potter, founder of Advanced Individualized Medicine of Naples, has died from complications due to COVID-19.

Potter, who, according to a statement from the medical practice, “focused on wellness, prevention and alternative therapies that best met the health needs of his patients,” died Aug. 19. He was 61.

“Dr. Potter was committed to his patients and his community,” practice administrator Lori-Ann Martell says in the statement. “Even in his final hours, he was concerned about the welfare of his patients. He wanted to make sure we would continue to encourage his patients to get vaccinated and do all we can to protect them from this terrible virus.”

A cancer survivor and had gone through radiation therapy, Potter died at Physicians Regional Hospital in Naples after spending several days in the Intensive Care Unit.

Born in Miami, Potter moved to Los Angeles to attend the University of Southern California, where he earned a degree in Psychobiology. He then moved to New York and earned his medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the release states.

He returned to California where he practiced family medicine for nearly 20 years and also worked on the front line of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in San Francisco. One of his great passions, the release states, was serving as Camp Medical Director at Camp Hakuna Matata, a summer camp for children and their families affected by HIV/AIDS.

Potter was an attending emergency specialist at several prestigious health systems, including St. Luke’s Hospital in San Francisco, University of California and Stanford Medical Center. He returned to Florida in 2010, to care for his ailing parents. He served as a volunteer physician at the Neighborhood Health Clinic until opening Advanced Individualized Medicine in 2016 in Naples.

In addition to the practice, Potter was a member of the board that founded the Naples Pride organization and helped plan the first Pride festival.