Dear New Patient,

I look forward to helping you, whether it's working to solve acute or chronic pain and degenerative conditions with regenerative injection therapies, wrangling unruly hormones or working with one of the many other health concerns I treat.  
We will create a plan to investigate and improve your health together, starting at your first appointment.  

If you'd first like to meet and discuss if regenerative injection therapies are right for you, you can request a 15 minute intro discovery call (done remotely at this time) by clicking here.

I strive to provide a welcoming and inclusive environment

I really try to practice what I preach in my mission statement. Being inclusive isn't just about making a statement, or putting up a sticker. It's about the whole atmosphere and experience. When you come to our clinic. When you have your appointment. The intake forms ahead of time and your interactions with our staff. All of it is important to me.

Here are some specific ways I work towards making my clinic a comfortable space for all bodies:

• We ask your pronouns in our new patient paperwork, and while claims sent to insurance must be identified with legal names and pronouns, in our day-to-day work with patients we use the name and pronoun you tell us to.
• Both clinics, including waiting room, treatment rooms, and restrooms are accessible for any mobility device. Please note that my Salem office is on the 2nd floor of a professional office building so please make use of the elevator right in front of our suite door.
• My Portland office has a very efficient floor plan, which means that some treatment rooms may be a bit snug if there are family members, caregivers or other aids in attendance during your visit. If you would like to move to a larger room, please do not hesitate to ask, that option is nearly always available.
• I am not a doctor who takes her patients weights all the time. My Portland office tends to collect weight at the first visit (and medical staff may ask your height and weight when collecting your blood pressure at follow-up visits). You can decline being weighed and disclosing your weight whenever you wish. While taking your weight may be medically necessary for some specific medical reasons and concerns, we are not in the practice of taking it on all patients routinely without reason.
• I do not use weight or BMI to influence what sort of care, recommendations, referrals, or treatment options I provide patients. Every patients' concerns are equally valuable to me. I do not tell some to, "eat less and exercise more" based on a BMI and provide different treatment recommendations to patients with different body sizes.
• Your health conditions will be taken seriously. I will do my best to thoroughly investigate your concerns. I will not write off your concerns with patronizing and discriminatory language such as, "it's just your age," "well that sounds normal," "well, what did you expect after having children," "well you're just getting older," and, "well you need to lose some weight."
• I actively address bias and gaslighting within the medical system - both at large and in my appointments with patients. It happens all the time. Don't be surprised when I call out total rubbish that past providers have told you. Beyond many commonly-recognized realms of discrimination such as racism, misogyny, homophobia, and transphobia, I also seek to identify and address the adverse effects of other types of oppression such as ableism, ageism, anti-fat bias, and healthism* that may be negatively impacting my patients.
  
• I am supportive of Health at Every Size® (HAES®) principles. I desire to help all my patients improve and understand the reasons behind the health concerns that brought them to me. Improving health and quality of life usually has nothing to do with a scale.
  
• I am actively dismantling Diet Culture from my practice and my life. I am anti-dieting. Weight loss efforts often undermine someone's health and mental well being.
  
• I would like to help you feel better, and get out there and enjoy your life more. That's my bottom line.
  

I have included a few photos around my two clinic locations so you can see what they look like ahead of time. A few features specifically included for patient comfort are exam beds that go as low as typical seating (no hopping to get up on a high bed!) and seating options available in every room that do not have arms.

Please let us know if you have accessibility needs not specified here.

office photo gallery

Portland location

Salem location

the inevitable new patient forms

You will be sent all the required forms when you make the new patient appointment (if you did not get this email, call our office to see if they have your email entered incorrectly).

We must receive those forms prior to your first visit so that I can review them and provide the best, most comprehensive and effective care possible.  Having your past medical history available for review prior to your appointment best respects both of our busy schedules, and gives us more time to discuss you!

If you do not have access to email, then please arrive 30 minutes prior to your appointment to fill out the required intake forms.

Thank you for your cooperation, it really does greatly help us both get off to a good start.





* If you're not familiar with the phrase healthism, it is the idea that a person's health is entirely their responsibility. It places a moral importance on maintaining good health, while ignoring every other socioeconomic impact on health outcomes. Having a moral obligation to be healthy can have negative consequences. It can lead to issues like eating disorders, negative body image, and deferring healthcare intervention.