NWB has been BUSY over here in Portland! As the Director of
Community Outreach as well as Co-Medical Director of the yet-to-be-named Portland
clinic site I have been working with Dr. Maria Valdez, a fellow Naturopathic
physician and the Medical Director of the Health and Wellness arm of the Osaia
Collective. Together with support from other local Naturopathic physicians
including Dr. Leslie Nicholas from Mercy & Wisdom and Dr. Carmen Campbell
from Four Blessings we were able to provide a free ‘lunch and learn’ series
called Thrive, focusing on Diabetes and Hypertension. Dr. Nicholas has extensive knowledge about
community clinics in Portland and has helped us navigate through some of the
initial set up steps. Dr. Campbell lectured and hosted a Q&A regarding
health and wellness which elicited great audience participation. Other N.D.’s,
community members and a representative from a Physicians Co-Op were on hand to
help and offer ideas for future classes and series as well.
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| Dr. Carmen Campbell talks to the community about Diabetes and Hypertension |
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| Dr. Maria Valdez (in white) talks to other professionals about NWB-Osaia. |
The highlight of this opening, in my eyes, was the book talk
by author and N.D. Dr. Pamela Jeanne (naturalmedworks.com) a sweet, insightful
doc with 45 years of experience in Women’s Health. Her new book, “Healing Matters”, looks at women’s
role as healers and their significance in health and wellness historically and
how that plays out in today’s society. We have lost much of the ‘feminine
essence’ in traditional medicine and even within our medicine; we not only fail
to clearly emphasize the role of women,
but their subtle energies and accomplishments that have lead to and continue to
lead to healing on so many levels. It
was a great talk with much participation from the audience which left me
reminded that we can enact change by being persistent, passionate and driven
while remembering to also be compassionate, loving and respectful of the
delicate ‘yin-yang’ balance that is so vital in our world.
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| Dr. Pamela Jeanne presents, "Healing Matters" |
What is the next step you ask? Well, we hope to plan for
another ‘Thrive’ lecture series in Aug (or the last Sunday in July due to
scheduling) and are still reaching out the community in the form of surveys,
talks, information sessions etc. to find out what their actual needs are and
how the NWB-Osaia clinic can help make those a reality. Finger crossed, the
grants start rolling in and we can open the doors for health screenings, health
fairs, physical exams and Primary Care appointments in the fall!
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| Dr.'s Zeenia Junkeer, Carmen Campbell and Leslie Nicholas (left to right) |
Until then…dreams of grants, Haiti and empowering the community
to take care of their health will keep me fueled up and ready for the next
step!
~Dr. Z
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| Gorgeous mural right around the corner from the clinic space. |
