Yakima’s Dr. Larson: Trust is at the core

As Kristin Larson, MD, nears her 20th anniversary caring for the Yakima community, she reminds herself that through health care’s many changes, trust remains at the core of what she does.

Dr. Larson joined MultiCare’s Apple Valley Family Medicine in 2004, when it operated as a private practice. A family medicine provider, Dr. Larson is committed to caring for patients through all stages of their lives.

That mindset also led her to hospice care (2004), as well as adult and pediatric inpatient care (2010-22) at MultiCare Yakima Memorial Hospital.

There for all the moments

Being there for patients at life’s big moments — good and bad — has been important in building trusting, long-lasting relationships, Dr. Larson says. Just as crucial is keeping their best interests top of mind.

“You can’t have great trust the first time you meet someone,” she says. “Over the years, you work hard, and you try to do what’s right for them … listening to them, what they value and what’s important to them.”

Trust makes a huge difference when serious illnesses come up because that relationship is already there, Dr. Larson says. Patients also feel better having someone who knows them and will advocate for them.

Her advocacy mindset carries over into hospice care. While some providers may shy away from the topic of death, Dr. Larson says she doesn’t want her patients to feel left behind as they age. Instead, she walks alongside them and provides transparent and compassionate guidance on their options.

“It’s nice if you can guide people and help them to skip a bunch of painful treatments that aren’t going to make much of a difference to their longevity or quality of life,” she explains. “Families are very appreciative of that for their loved ones, and they remember that.”

This is her home, too

Dr. Larson holds her commitment to Yakima especially high — she grew up here.

She graduated high school in Yakima before moving to the East Coast for her undergraduate degree at Princeton University, then medical school at Penn State. She returned to Yakima for her medical residency and hasn’t left since.

“I always liked the science [of medicine] but couldn’t see myself in a lab at a bench,” Dr. Larson says. “I wanted something where I could interact with people more.”

Having watched three uncles and her grandfather be providers, she was drawn to the idea of family medicine because of the range it demanded. She has patients of all ages and varying health needs, and even cares for multiple generations of families.

Likely to many of her patients’ surprise, Dr. Larson describes herself as an introvert. When it comes to patient care, though, she thrives on those interactions and helping guide people as they navigate hard times.

“Over the years, you work hard, and you try to do what’s right for them … listening to them, what they value and what’s important to them.”

She’s also dedicated a large amount of her time to improving the local health care community by promoting the growth of specialty services, increasing health education and access for underserved populations, and mentoring the next generation of providers. She sits on boards for Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences (PNWU), the Washington Academy of Family Physicians Foundation and Community Health of Central Washington.

Yakima lacks a lot of specialty and primary care access, Dr. Larson explains. A large portion of residents face socio-economic barriers and can’t easily travel to Spokane or Seattle to receive the care they need. The community also faces challenges like language barriers, a longstanding distrust of health care and limited access to healthy, regular meals.

“I’m hoping we will get a more vibrant medical community back here like we used to have for our patients,” she says.

Having local medical students plays a huge role in that future, Dr. Larson adds. As more students graduate, she anticipates a boom of providers returning to the region to provide the variety of high-quality services they need.

Finding her balance

Of those medical students entering the field, over half identify as women. Dr. Larson reminds them to have fun with it.

“Make sure [the job] doesn’t consume you,” she says. “It will always be a big part, but care for yourself, too.”

That includes making time for yourself and family.

Thinking back to when she started, the clinic had two male physicians and one female nurse practitioner. Dr. Larson says she faced some internal guilt knowing she’d soon be taking time away to start her family.

“As a woman in medicine, there’s often a little bit of guilt about not being fully present for your professional and mom duties,” she explains. “But that’s also not unique to medicine — it’s all over.”

Dr. Larson remembers even logging on to her computer during maternity leave. Today, she sees others logged off during theirs and believes that’s how it should be.

As more female providers enter the field, she hopes those positive changes continue.

“I don’t think a lot of specialties have chosen to welcome women the way they could,” Dr. Larson says. “I think there’s a sort of pressure — you have to ask for breaks to pump, ask and feel guilty for your time off to have a baby … and a lot of the training tracks for the specialties have crazy hours.”

For many young women entering the medical field, it’s a decision between taking time off or seeing your children less during training — or waiting until you’re done with training, which could be a decade, she says.

Dr. Larson was fortunate to have family close by while raising her daughters, and flexible use of her time off to make it to games or field trips. As her daughters have grown, the challenge has lessened and she’s found more time for her own activities, too.

She loves to read, hike, ski and play tennis. She enjoys time at the lake or in Sun Valley. And when safe to do so, her family takes longer trips out of the country.

In the meantime, Dr. Larson is excited for the future and reassures her patients that whatever may come — although hopefully not another global pandemic — she’ll be there with them to figure it out together.