Irving Smith, DO, brings broad sleep medicine expertise to Harris Regional

Harris Regional Hospital is pleased to welcome Irving Smith, DO, to its medical staff. Smith joins the team at Harris Pulmonary and Sleep Center, practicing alongside Gregory Brown, MD; Tyler Arenas, PA-C; Christine Kryger, NP; Jodie Wade, FNP; and Leah Seiger, APRN. Board certified in internal medicine and sleep medicine, Smith is now seeing patients at the center, located at 70 Westcare Drive, Suite 404 in Sylva. 

Smith completed fellowship training in sleep medicine at the New Jersey Neuroscience Institute after training in internal medicine at Samaritan Medical Center and the Medical University of South Carolina. He has spent more than 15 years practicing internal medicine and sleep medicine and has served in leadership roles overseeing sleep medicine programs and sleep laboratories. 

His interest in medicine was shaped by a desire to serve others, an appreciation for the intellectual challenges of medicine, and the influence of his mother and grandmother. His mother, like several other women in his family, was a nurse and helped instill in him a strong commitment to learning and service. 

Smith chose sleep medicine because of its multidisciplinary nature and the way it brings together elements of internal medicine, neurology, psychiatry, pulmonology, and cardiology. His expertise includes the diagnosis and treatment of sleep-related breathing disorders as well as insomnia, hypersomnias, restless legs syndrome and other sleep-related movement disorders, REM behavior disorder, sleep-related seizures, and pediatric sleep conditions. 

“Sleep medicine is an exciting frontier in medicine,” Smith said. “We have been designed to spend a third of our lives sleeping, so it only makes sense that sleep would have profound effects on our bodies and minds, especially the heart and brain.” 

Smith’s approach to care centers on listening closely to patients, communicating clearly, and developing treatment plans that patients understand. Although he practices within a specialty, he said he works to consider the whole person rather than viewing symptoms or diagnoses in isolation. 

“My goal is to apply skill with respect and kindness,” Smith said. “I want to actively listen to the patient, arrive at an accurate diagnosis, and develop an effective treatment plan that makes sense to them.” 

“We are excited to welcome Dr. Smith to Harris and to expand access to specialized sleep medicine services for our community,” said Ashley Hindman, CEO of Harris Regional Hospital and Swain Community Hospital. “His depth of experience and commitment to thoughtful, patient-centered care will be valuable additions to our team and to the patients we serve across western North Carolina.” 

Originally from St. Augustine, Florida, Smith said several factors drew him back to the South and ultimately to western North Carolina. He was attracted to the region’s natural beauty and sense of community, as well as personal and family connections throughout the Southeast. 

Smith also has longstanding ties to the specialty locally. Two physicians with whom he previously worked in New Hampshire helped establish the pulmonary and sleep medicine practice now operated by Harris Regional Hospital. 

Outside of medicine, Smith’s interests include faith, family, friends, music, food and wine, nature, history, reading, and writing. His professional background before entering medicine also included culinary arts, food and wine journalism, and work as a professional chef. 

Smith will see patients at Harris Pulmonary and Sleep Center, located at 70 Westcare Drive, Suite 404 in Sylva.