OREGON

BEAVERTON
Margaret Vandenbark, family practice 
 Beaverton Kaiser
 Beaverton, OR
 643-7565

EUGENE
Jesica Dolin, CPM, LDM (Licensed Midwife)
	See entry under Portland

PORTLAND
Andrew Ahmann, MD, diabetologist 
	Oregon Health Science University 
	Portland, Oregon 
	503 494-3273
	A diabetologist is an endocrinologist who specializes in
	diabetes. Dr Ahmann is a researcher who lectures on diabetes all
	over the world. Not only has he never bugged me about my weight,
	I've heard him say that he's not all that impressed with weight
	loss as a treatment for diabetes, and that only about 11% of
	diabetics can control their illness with diet and exercise
	changes alone. Last week he asked me for subscription
	information to the fat-accepting diabetes email list, as well as
	any other fat-acceptance lists I'm on. I think he's a good
	doctor, has a dry sense of humor, and listens to my perceptions
	of my own body. -- Mara Nesbitt-Aldrich (nesbitt at hevanet dot
	com)

Patra Behary, general practitioner
	Kaiser Permanente East Interstate office
	Portland, OR
	When I entered the examination room, there was a sign that said
	that this room is a space that people's personal choices about
	their bodies were respected. I found that to be true. She did
	not say anything about my weight, even when she was referring me
	to a sleep study. Weight loss was only mentioned as one of the
	ways to deal with sleep apnea, but she never indicated that I
	was to do that. Overall, I found her pleasant and felt like she
	actually listened to what I was saying. -- Jamica

Jesica Dolin, CPM, LDM (Licensed Midwife)
	Providing home appointments and delivery from Portland to
	Eugene; as well as births at Andaluz Birth Center in Tualatin,
	OR.
	503-702-5392
	jesicadolin@yahoo.com
	Self-referred.
	I apply many principals of size-friendly care to all women in my
	practice.  For example, I tell each client the advantages and
	disadvantages of weighing at each prenatal, and give each the
	opportunity to decline routine weigh-in's.  The important things
	are the size and health of the baby, and the health of the mom;
	not the number on the scale.  Body image issues affect most
	women, and just as many thin women have declined to be weighed
	for psycological reasons.  Size-friendly care is simply
	respectful care, which is every woman's right, regardless of
	size. VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) welcome.

Deborah Duran-Snell, Certified Nurse-Midwife
	Westside Women's Care
	9155 S.W. Barnes Rd., Suite 340
	(Office Building of St. Vincent's Hospital)
	Portland, OR  97225
	(503) 297-3775
	FAX: (503) 297-0353
	An excellent midwife who is also a person of size herself.
	Provides size-friendly care and is gentle and laid-back in
	personality. She has had 1 C-section, and 3 vaginal births after
	cesarean herself, so she is empathetic to a variety of client
	concerns. There are 4 midwives in the practice and they are
	associated with a number of backup OBs. If complications occur,
	they co-manage the case with an OB, so you retain continuity of
	care. The backup OBs are not as size-friendly, but the midwives
	can and do intervene. They also tend to be very
	non-interventionist in managing things like gestational
	diabetes, so a mild case would not automatically incur many of
	the interventions common to OBs. I highly recommend this care
	provider.

Carl Erickson
	503 233-5273
	S.E. Milwaukie Ave. 
	Portland OR
	I've been seeing Dr. Erickson for about 6 years now. I chose him
	after I made a series of phone interviews with other doctors in
	my health plan. I asked: "Do you think it's possible to be both
	fat and healthy?" Dr. Erickson said "Of course!" He put in two
	armless chairs in his waiting room, his staff knows not to ask
	me to weigh, and he really listens to me. I'm a health
	professional, so I have my own opinions about my body and what's
	going wrong, and he respects that. I do have to push him
	sometimes to recommend a test or a procedure. I think this is
	mostly due to pressure from the insurance companies to limit
	their expenditures. All in all, I think a lot of him. -- Mara
	Nesbitt-Aldrich 

Laura Erickson (CPM, LM) and Laurie Perron-Mednick (CPM) 
	Alma Midwifery 
	1608 SE Ankeny St Portland, OR 97214
	503-233-3001
	They are fat-friendly providers. They attended my daughter's
	birth at home and I am happy to be seeing them again for a
	second pregnancy. They are not even fazed by my size, as they
	emphasize health and good habits over the number on the scale.
	They are far more concerned that I am eating plenty of good
	foods to stay healthy than they are with my size or weight gain.
	Weigh-ins are optional, I did them last time but this time I am
	opting out. I discussed with them why keeping a written food
	diary was psychologically not ideal for me, and they happily
	agreed to simply having casual in-office discussions about
	nutrition instead. The emphasis is always on what foods would be
	good for you to eat, not scolding about what you should not eat.
	They respect each client's autonomy and will not pressure you
	into screening tests just because--though if one may be needed,
	they won't hesitate to explain why they think it's a good idea.
	Lots of helpful advice, no guilt, no pressure. In general I feel
	respected and safe in their office.

Ellen Iwasaki, Nurse Practitioner 
	OHSU Gabriel Park Clinic    
	SW 45th and Vermont 
	503 494-9992
	Ellen is my primary care physician. I've been seeing her for
	about 4 years now. I came into her office with my version of  and
	Ellen read it through. She laughed at the appropriate places,
	and when she came to the end of it, where it says something like
	"I hope you can work with me in keeping me healthy, given this
	is the way I want to be treated", she agreed. She's been
	supportive of me at the size I am, and is very impressed with
	the care I take with my own health, especially my diabetes. I
	use pain medication, and over the years she's come to trust my
	judgement on taking the right kinds and doseages, without making
	me justify why I need more. In fact, she tells me I'm a little
	too hard on myself. If I had one complaint about her, it would
	be that she could be a better diagnostician. She missed a
	bulging disc in my husband's back till it ruptured (she thought
	it was arthritis of the hip, but to be fair, she wasn't the only
	doctor that missed it), and she delayed diagnosing my diabetes
	till after I had a complication, peripheral neuropathy, for a
	year and a half, following the official guidelines for
	diagnosis. If you're the type of person who is willing to do
	research on your own, present it to her for her consideration
	and knowledge, and to tell her how you, as a fat person, want to
	be treated, she's a good person to have on your side. - Mara
	Nesbitt-Aldrich

Theodore (Ted) Mackett
	10000 SE Main, #408
	Portland, OR  
	503-256-1575
	He mainly works at Portland Adventist Hospital, which seems to
	be a very nice, smaller hospital. Everybody has been very
	friendly and helpful. When I got an EKG, the gown even fit with
	room to spare!  I think he also works out of Providence
	Hospital. 

Michael McDonald, ENT
Portland, OR 
	I was recently diagnosed with sleep apnea.  I would to recommend
	him to anybody, without hesitation. He's very warm, very funny,
	comfortable, non-judgemental, and according to the sleep lab
	technician, a very good doctor. I had my sleep study at Portland
	Adventist hospital, and it was great. (I had surgery there this
	summer, and I have very positive feelings about the staff. The
	nurses were wonderful.) The technician went out of his way to
	make sure I was comfortable, and answered all my questions. I
	could tell that great attempts had been made to make the room
	comfortable, so it didn't seem quite so "hospitalish". My only
	complaint is that the whole process was rather slow, but I'm not
	sure if it was the fault of the doctor, or my insurance. (Or
	maybe both).  -- Mary, MHDyer@aol.com

Susan Moray, LDM, CPM 
        N.W. Community Midwives - homebirth midwifery services
        Portland, Oregon
        503-230-9559
        smoray@qwest.net
        www.nwmidwives.com
        Self-referred.
        Our midwives see women as individuals regardless of age, size or
        socio-economic background.  We provide individualized prenatal
        care to optimize a healthy pregnancy for each woman and her
        baby.

Mara Nesbitt, Licensed Massage Therapist and Yoga Instructor
	Portland Oregon
	503 244-1114
	http://www.miragevideos.com/bmyfcab.htm
	nesbitt@hevanet.com
	Self-referred.
	I'm a supersized woman, very sensitive to the needs of my fat
	clients. I specialize in working with fat women, both in my
	massage practice and my yoga classes. My yoga video is called
	"BIG MOVES: Yoga for Chair and Bed". My massage office is made
	comfortable for fat people with an armless chair, low table, and
	fat-friendly artwork. The web page describes my yoga video. --
	Mara

Gretchen Newmark, MA, RD, dietician
	2525 NE 44th Avenue
	Portland, OR 97213
	503-249-8064
	gnewmark@spiritone.com
	Self-referred.
	I am a dietitian in private practice. I've specialised in
	disordered eating for over 20 years. I don't see myself so much
	as "fat friendly" as "friendly." I consider people my friends
	until proven otherwise, and generally have respect and
	compassion for all of us--regardless of gender, size, age,
	religion, or even species. I do what I can to help people see
	their own strengths and beauty and to express it, and to hear
	their own voice saying their own truth. 

SALEM
Deborah Johnson, Obstetrics and Gynecology
	1275 Edgewater St NW
	Salem, OR 97304
	(503) 585-9695
	Dr. Johnson was recommended to me by another large patient of
	hers who said Dr. Johnson was large herself, employed a large
	medical assistant and was very understanding of women's issues
	with their own weight in regard to receiving health care. The
	office had plenty of fat-friendly seating, including comfortable
	benches. The scale was able to measure my weight, and went up to
	400+ lbs. The woman who weighed me was very large herself and
	said she understood "from one big girl to another" why I didn't
	like looking at my own weight. The gowns were VERY large,
	probably the only time I felt like the gown more than adequately
	covered me, and there was plenty of room to spare. Dr. Johnson
	did not comment on my weight at all. She talked with me about it
	when I brought up the topic and said that she really understands
	how it feels and was happy to help support me with any healthy
	changes I would like to try and make. She also said she does not
	think a lot of doctors really understand obesity and the issues
	that surround it. I felt like she was extremely respectful and
	she did not seem to think that weight was a complete indicator
	of health, ability or happiness. This was by far the best doctor
	experience I have ever had.

TUALATIN
Jesica Dolin, CPM, LDM (Licensed Midwife)
	Providing home appointments and delivery from Portland to
	Eugene; as well as births at Andaluz Birth Center in Tualatin,
	OR.
	503-702-5392
	jesicadolin@yahoo.com
	Self-referred.
	I apply many principals of size-friendly care to all women in my
	practice.  For example, I tell each client the advantages and
	disadvantages of weighing at each prenatal, and give each the
	opportunity to decline routine weigh-in's.  The important things
	are the size and health of the baby, and the health of the mom;
	not the number on the scale.  Body image issues affect most
	women, and just as many thin women have declined to be weighed
	for psycological reasons. Size-friendly care is simply
	respectful care, which is every woman's right, regardless of
	size.