Our Faculty
Kerry Watrin, MD
Family Physician w/ Obstetrics, Omak Rural Training Program Director
Languages: English
Medical School: University of Washington
Residency: Tacoma Family Medicine
Clinical Interests: Family Medicine & Obstetrics
It is a privilege to be the founding Program Director for the MultiCare Omak Rural Training Program in Family Medicine. My roots are in Eastern Washington. I bucked hay in the alfalfa fields and worked the cherry orchards as a teenager. I was able to join my father on construction jobs at Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee Dams in North Central Washington. My medical school Family Medicine rotation was in Omak, Washington. I have taught full spectrum Family Medicine for over 30 years, including 10 years as a Program Director at Tacoma Family Medicine. This new Omak Rural training program has a wonderful village of founding partners. MultiCare, Family Health Centers FQHC and the Omak Mid-valley Hospital are enthusiastic sponsors. Led by Dr Emily Miller and Dr James Wallace there is strong medical community support in Omak. We have generous financial support startup grants from Premera and the State of Washington. We have relied on collaboration with the University of Washington WWAMI Network of Family Medicine Programs and Pacific Northwest University Health Sciences, to construct a first rate Rural Training Program and curriculum. Life in the Okanogan is glorious. Hiking and camping in the North Cascades has been a great joy in my life. We are seeking those special founding residents to make Omak a top destination for Rural Medicine Training. Come and join us.
Blue Bradley, CNM, ARNP
Certified Nurse Midwife/Women’s Health Clinical Director
Languages: English
Hometown: Littleton, Colorado
Medical School: Frontier University- 2008
Residency: Spokane Deaconess Women’s Health and Madison Birth Center, 2006 and 2007
Clinical Interests: Infant Care and Breastfeeding, Women’s Primary Care, Obstetrics and Gynecology
Blue began her career as a health care professional in 1999 as a birth doula. She then attended nursing school and worked as an RN in both the rural hospital setting and a primary care clinic for the next 6 years. After doing clinicals in Spokane and Madison, WI, she received her Master’s in Nursing (Midwifery) through Frontier University in 2008. She founded and ran her own midwifery clinic in the Methow Valley, offering both home and hospital births until 2015, when she joined Family Health Centers in Twisp. She completed the lactation consultant didactic training and has been teaching Childbirth Education classes since 2008. After working for 11 years in Brewster at a hospital that allowed nitrous analgesia and water births, she was influential in bringing those for laboring women to Mid-Valley Hospital in 2020. Blue is passionate about birth, helping her community and providing high quality health care for women. The Methow Valley has been her home since 1995 and she enjoys spending her free time with her husband and daughter, traveling, climbing, skiing and gardening.
Erin Cooley, MD
Physician w/ OB
Languages: English, Spanish
Hometown: Redmond, Washington
Medical School: University of Washington
Residency: Swedish Cherry Hill Family Medicine Residency, 2018
Clinical Interests: Women’s Health, Gender Affirming Care, OB, Preventative medicine
Dr. Cooley completed her undergraduate degree at Whitworth University and medical degree from University of Washington. She completed her residency at Swedish Cherry Hill Family Medicine. Her interests are in LGBT/ gender affirming care, OB, women’s health, preventative medicine and community organizing. “I’m looking forward to living in a place where I can play outdoors in my free time and have an impact on my community in my job. I am grateful to be a part of an organization that is finding innovative ways to keep our community healthy.”
Leanna Davis, PharmD, BCACP, CDCES
Languages: English
Hometown: Tacoma and Reardan, WA
Pharmacy School: Washington State University College of Pharmacy, Pullman, WA
Residency: St. Joseph Medical Center Pharmacy Practice Residency
Clinical Interests: Diabetes Care and Education, Chronic Disease Management, Patient-Centered Medical Home Model, Evidence-Based Medicine, Weight Inclusive Healthcare
Practicing collaborative patient care is what drew me to Tacoma Family Medicine. I love being able to work with learners of many professions at different levels in their education. I am passionate about interdisciplinary learning and how a team approach can improve patient outcomes. Safe and effective medication use is integral to family medicine, and to facilitate this I also train MultiCare’s pharmacy residents on ambulatory care and chronic disease management.
Allison Fitzgerald, MD, FAAFP
Physician w/ OB
Languages: English, Spanish, rudimentary Norwegian
Hometown: Winthrop, WA
Birthplace: Greenwich, CT
Medical School: University of Connecticut, Class of 1989
Residency: Mountain Area Health Education Center, Asheville, NC 1989-92
Clinical Interests: Women’s health, pediatrics, chronic disease management, health care maintenance, EVERYTHING!
I joined Family Health Centers in 2015 after 23 years at an FQHC in Seattle. I enjoy the breadth of rural family medicine, and seeing my patients both in and out of the FHC-Twisp clinic. In my free time I hike, trail run, nordic ski, swim-basically anything that gets me outside. I’m always amazed at all the entertainment options in the Methow and Okanogan County. My husband is a volunteer firefighter and AEMT, and our son attends Kenyon College, Class of 2023, after graduating from Liberty Bell High School in 2019.
Marc Levanel, Pharm D
Pharmacist/Director of Pharmacy
Languages: English
Hometown: Kelowna, Canada
Pharmacy School: University of New Mexico
Clinical Interests: Whole Person Health, Rural Health, Diabetes
I began my career in retail pharmacy where I saw so many patients run into barriers with affording their medications. I joined Family Health Centers in 2014 excited to help everyone regardless of their ability to pay. Over the years I have had the privilege of working with so many wonderful providers and staff who care about making a difference in our community.
Our mission to improve the health of our entire community is a challenge but so meaningful to me. I believe that everyone should be able to get high quality healthcare regardless of who they are or where they’re from. From the pharmacy we have leveraged our 340B Drug Pricing Program and our Medication Assistance Program to help ensure that patients can actually take their medicine as prescribed. From EpiPens to insulins and many other expensive medications, we are able to help even uninsured patients get lifesaving treatment that they otherwise could not afford. We also use the program to help stretch federal funds and provide more comprehensive services to our patients.
In my free time I enjoy visiting many of the great hiking spots in Okanogan County. I also enjoy tennis, board games, and tabletop roleplaying games.
Emily Miller, MD
Family Physician with surgical obstetrics, Omak Rural Training Associate Program Director
Languages: English
Hometown: New Plymouth, New Zealand
Medical School: University of Rochester, School of Medicine and Dentistry
Residency: Tacoma Family Medicine Residency, 2012
Fellowships: Tacoma Family Medicine Rural Medicine Fellowship, 2013
Clinical Interests: Whole Person Family Medicine, Obstetrics
The science of medicine has always been fascinating to me, but it was not until I envisioned a medical practice spanning all ages and rooted in a community that I really decided to become a physician. My desire to work in a small town led to specializing in Family Medicine and then completing a Rural Medicine Fellowship including training in cesarean sections and higher risk prenatal care. Though I spent my early years in the green landscapes of New Zealand, New Hampshire and Western Washington I’ve come to love the open skies in Omak, WA where I am a Family Physician at Family Health Centers.
Rural communities face a shortage of primary care providers; my primary clinical goal is to be a stable source of medical care for families in Okanogan County and to be responsive to the types of care that they need. I find professional fulfillment in the variety of full spectrum family medicine, with a special interest in prenatal care and obstetrics.
Mentoring future rural practitioners as the Associate Program Director for the Omak Rural Training Program brings the satisfaction of teaching to an already full professional life. Outside of medicine, Dr Miller roams Okanogan County foraging for wild foods, and cultivates a small farm.
James Wallace, MD, MPH, FAAFP
Family Physician w/ Obstetrics, Omak Site Director
Languages: English, Spanish
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Medical School: University of North Carolina School of Medicine, 2007
Residency: University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, 2010
Fellowships: Swedish High Risk Obstetrics Fellowship, 2012
Clinical Interests: Rural Health, Obstetrics, Point of Care Ultrasound, Public Health
Dr. Wallace is a family physician with a love for serving entire families and helping patients through the many joys and challenges of life. His fellowship training in obstetrics enables him to provide cesarean and high-risk backup services at Mid Valley Hospital and participate on a state level in improving care for people and families around pregnancy. His role as Health Officer with Okanogan County Public Health enables him to serve the many diverse communities in Okanogan County through collaborative disease prevention and health promotion programs.
The family medicine educational journey carried Dr. Wallace from the hollers of southern Appalachia and the farms of eastern North Carolina through urban jungles of Nicaragua and forested jungles of Indonesia, across the desert of the Navajo Nation and up into the wilds of western Washington. The learning trail continues in Okanogan County as the family medicine foundation continues to offer solutions for both illness and social injustice. Care for vulnerable populations around pregnancy, point of care ultrasound and community oriented primary care are at the leading edge of Dr. Wallace’s current learning pursuits. He has enjoyed having students and residents along for the ride on rural rotations and now looks forward to learning and serving together with residents through the Omak Rural Training Program.
“It is a privilege to live and work in north central Washington, to care for diverse and resilient patients who work hard to improve their lives and support their families, and to make our health systems better for them. I am fortunate to have the best coworkers in the world. Our clinic teams go out of their way to ensure patients receive compassionate, high quality and personalized care. When not working I enjoy running, biking, paddling and skiing all over Okanogan County with my wife and two boys.”