About Me

I grew up in Salem, Oregon, but moved to central Illinois at the start of my junior year of high school. I graduated from the University of Colorado in 1978 and the University of Illinois medical school in 1983. I completed my family medicine residency at Oregon Health and Science University in 1986. I am married and have two adult children; one is an RN working in Spokane and the other is a student at Evergreen State University in Olympia, Washington. I chose to practice family Medicine so as to be able to combine my interest in the natural sciences, with my interest in working with people on a day to day basis.

About my practice

Family medicine is a demanding and yet very broad category of medical practice. It is similar to the older form of general practice, but the training is much more thorough and lasts two years longer. It is recognized as a medical specialty. We family doctors like to say that we "specialize in you", meaning that we take care of all aspects of medical care for people of all ages. I spent the first 19 years of my post graduate professional life in a rural town in the Columbia River Gorge. A fluctuating team that included myself and between three and seven other physicians at any given time provided all the medical care, including obstetrics, for the towns of Stevenson and White Salmon in Washington state. I decided to join Kaiser Permanente in 2006. Although I don't practice obstetrics any more, I still provide most types of routine primary medical care to everyone from newborns to the very well aged.

How I thrive

I thrive by spending as much time as I can outdoors. There are lots of chores to do around the house, but I try to get those done as quickly as possible so I can go out and have fun. I enjoy telemark and cross country skiing in the winter, and bicycling, golf, windsurfing and fishing when the weather is nicer. I play the guitar occasionally, and not terribly well. My wife and I still live in White Salmon, WA, which puts all these recreational resources right out our door.