Cathlamet clinic has permanent practitioners

The Family Health Center has been looking for the right people to staff the Wahkiakum Clinic in Cathlamet for years. They finally got their wish when Dr. Hassan Tabrizi joined the practice in July, and Nurse Practitioner Kristie Andreas, who has been at the clinic for a year, declared her intention to stay.

"We're so excited for them to be here," Clinic Manager Amanda Wisdom said. "We've been working really hard towards getting full time providers here for a couple years now, so we are happy to have them on board."

"We were really holding out for folks who wanted to be here, wanted to be in this kind of community and wanted to make a commitment," Dian Cooper, the Director of Family Health Center said.

Tabrizi, who has been practicing for over 20 years, is a graduate of Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, specializing in internal medicine.

In Andreas' book, that makes him pretty smart.

"It's mostly for adults," she said. "Your patients are sicker. A rash? That won't be him, that will be me."

"She knows more about women's care and children, so we complement each other," Tabrizi said.

Andreas is excited to have another provider in the office, to have another pair of eyes, another brain to tackle the health issues they will come across. Andreas has a master's degree in nursing from Texas A & M University and is board certified in family practice. She has been at the clinic for a year, and will officially become permanent on October 1.

She is thinking about adding psychiatric nurse practitioner to her resume as well.

"It's going to be very necessary and amazing for me to learn," Andreas said. "We have the inmates in our jail as patients, and we work with mental health. I think that would help me out in that setting."

Andreas, who was born in Alabama and spent many years in Texas, worked in Washington for a time before returning to Texas. She liked it in Washington and when one job changed, she decided it was time to return. That's how she ended up here.

Tabrizi learned about Wahkiakum County after a recent visit to Longview for work. The rural clinic appealed to him, and he's looking forward to the different challenges it will bring, as well as the quiet.

"You cannot fear much," Andreas said of working in a rural setting. "You've got to know we're the only people next to the dentist that can write a prescription in the area. That's kind of a big deal."

Andreas decided to stay because of the people, because she felt needed. And she's delighted by the response to Dr. Tabrizi.

"They love Dr. Tabrizi already," she said. "There was a lot of turnover over the past couple years, people terrified to come here for whatever reason. It's over. We're happy to see the community, with color and smiles, and their kids and their family. It's good."