Paola Candia, DO (she/her) - Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences
College of Osteopathic Medicine
My mom immigrated to the U.S. from Nicaragua and growing up I saw firsthand how hard she had to work to give her children a home and food, to survive. Seeing her physical ailments from laborious jobs as a child – and seeing the results today— I yearned to take care of her, and people like her. This eventually led me to family medicine. Family medicine to me is looking at the social determinants of health and tailoring your care to fit the needs of the person. It is also about advocating for quality care to all, regardless of your race, gender identity, socioeconomic class, etc. I have many interests in family medicine – rural and underserved population care, prevention, women’s health, obstetrics, community outreach, and more.
Outside of medicine some things I enjoy are playing soccer, trying new pastries and coffee, taking photos of flowers, hiking, playing Zelda, and reading.
Paola is staying in the PNW, continuing to provide care to underserved populations in Snohomish County, WA.
Taylor Wrinkle, MD (she/her) - University of California, San Diego School
of Medicine
What I love about Family Medicine is that it incorporates and prioritizes so many of the things that I have come to value in medicine: public health, social medicine, patient advocacy and holistic care. I worked in global public health prior to medical school and am committed to providing full spectrum care to the underserved. My interests include obstetrics, women and children’s health, and global health. I speak French and some Spanish.
In my free time, I enjoy making bread, skiing, and sailing, and spending time with my husband and our son.
Taylor is continuing to pursue her passion for obstetrics and was accepted into an OB fellowship at Swedish in Seattle, WA. She plans to return to Hood River and join the faculty at One Community Health upon completing her fellowship in Summer 2025!
Jessica Worrell, MD - University of Oklahoma College of Medicine - YouTube
Jessica Worrell, MD (she/her) - University of Oklahoma College of Medicine
I grew up on a rural ranch in Oklahoma where I learned to be independent and resilient. I have a strong desire to become a full spectrum family physician and serve a rural population. I want to be more than just a healer, I aspire to be educational, inclusive, humane, and dedicated to the health and safety of my patients no matter their status or background.
My non-medical interests include: jazz, piano, poetry, kickboxing, backpacking, nature, and wildlife, rock climbing, cross-country, and hanging out with my dog Opal.
Jessica has chosen to follow a career in inpatient medicine and was accepted into a hospitalist fellowship program at UT Health in San Antonio, TX.
Fernando Polanco, MD - St. George University School of Medicine - YouTube
Fernando Polanco, MD (he/him) - St. George University School of Medicine
I was born in Guatemala then moved to Canada in 1989 at the height of the Guatemalan Civil war and was raised in a rural town in northern British Columbia Canada. Shaped by my experiences growing up, I became passionate about integrating social justice with health sciences. I have extensive experience in Indigenous health research, worked in health policy with marginalized populations, and worked in harm reduction/needle exchange prior to starting medical school. I believe that family medicine has a unique ability to foster relationships both at an individual and community level.
I enjoy coaching and playing soccer, surfing, back-country snowboarding, playing classical guitar, and speaking Spanish and French.
After completing his residency, Fernando returned to his home on Vancouver Island in British Columbia (BC) Canada, where he now provides comprehensive medical care both in the clinic and hospital settings. His practice is dedicated to delivering full-spectrum care, including OB, inpatient, and ER medicine. He has a particular focus on serving the health and well-being of Indigenous communities in rural/areas of BC.
Madeline Bierle, MD (she/her) - University of New Mexico School of Medicine
Madeline graduated from the University of New Mexico and received her undergraduate degree there, too. She grew up in rural southern New Mexico, learned Spanish during time spent in both Mexico and Guatemala and was in the Somos Hermanos program in Xela, Guatemala.
She impressed us with her humility, compassion and aptitude! A former attending wrote: “Madeline is extraordinary at being attentive to patients with complex medical diagnosis coupled with difficult social problems.”
She enjoys hiking, camping and river rafting and is already a passionate Portland Timbers Fan, too!
Madeline joined our Faculty at One Community Health full time after graduating from our program!
Benjamin Coffey, MD (he/him) - University of Washington School of Medicine
Ben graduated medical school from the University of Washington and was a rural scholar in WWAMI/Idaho program. His undergrad degree is from the University of Puget Sound but also studied in Granada, Spain. Ben grew up in Mt Vernon, Washington.
Before medical school he was a math teacher in the Navajo nation, which helped developed his understanding of social determinants of health. His letters of recommendation were replete with praise of his keen clinical skills and compassionate nature.
He describes himself as a “very amateur banjo, fiddle and guitar player” and enjoys running, backpacking and skiing.
Ben plans to stay in Hood River and will be doing locums work at One Community Health and also at the Deschutes River Clinic in Maupin, OR.
Laura is a native of Montana and earned a bachelor’s degree in biology at the University of Santa Clara. She took the initiative to earn a master’s in public health during medical school as well.
Laura has been interested in rural family medicine since a young age and was mentored by family practitioners in rural Montana. She comes from a family of musicians and has been playing the harp since age 10. Some of her earliest exposures to health care were from playing harp at a nearby hospital or the hospice center—over the years, she’s taken that talent and continued to play the harp since in orchestras and ensembles!
In her free time, Laura also enjoys hiking and baking, and, after being in New York, she’s excited to be in a place big enough to have a dog! Besides being fluent musically, Laura also speaks Spanish. Her career goal is to practice full spectrum family medicine in a rural community. She is currently working in Gresham, Oregon at the East Multnomah County Health Clinic where serve provides care to many Spanish speaking families as well as provides addiction treatment services to her patients.
Enrique Riddle, MD (he/him) - Tulane University
Enrique is a native of Texas and New Mexico. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Mississippi College in Medical Sciences, where he was also awarded his school’s Gold Humanism Award.
Enrique comes from a strong physician pedigree. When he was a boy growing up near the border of Texas and Mexico, his family told him stories of his physician grandfather who rode a horse and carriage throughout rural northern Mexico, treating the poor and underserved of their communities.
Enrique is also a musician and has been playing classical guitar since age 16. He even has performed on the streets of New Orleans in the French Quarter raising funds to support charitable foundations.
We were impressed with his sincerity and connection to his heritage. He is a native Spanish speaker. He and his wife Christine now practice in the Bay Area of California with Sutter Health.
Carly Chambers, MD (she/her) - Oregon Health & Science University
As a fourth generation Oregonian, Carly has family history across the state which connects her to the varied country of the Northwest. Although a rare native Portlander, she lived abroad and experienced diverse beliefs, traditions, and people. She combined her love of healing with learning about other cultures by volunteering with migrant outreach programs and free health clinics beginning as a teenager. The Hood River family medicine residency program's emphasis on rural and underserved care was a perfect fit for furthering this interest. She is excited to develop lasting relationships with patients to work toward better health for both the individual and community. Her academic and CQI project reviewed Pediatric Obesity identification and interactions. Outside of medicine, Carly enjoys spending time with her family and friends (to whom she is incredibly grateful for their endless love and support), being active (skiing, hiking, biking, horseback riding, and hopefully wind surfing soon!), eating all sorts of delicious fresh fruit from this beautiful valley, and reading a good book! She first practiced as a locums physician at One Community Health and now is a busy full spectrum Family Medicine clinician with a busy Obstetrics practice in Longview, Washington.
Kate Kleaveland, MD (she/her) - Oregon Health & Science University
Kate grew up in Bend, Oregon and later earned a degree in Biology from Southern Oregon University. Before medical school, she worked at an Indian Health Service Clinic in rural Washington, Planned Parenthood, and as a research assistant at OHSU. At OHSU she was an Oregon Rural Scholar. She knew she wanted to be a rural family medicine physician since beginning medical school. She has been a social justice advocate since high school and is committed to working with populations and peoples on the margins of society. Kate’s research project was on Advanced Care Planning and POLST completion rates in primary care rural practice. Kate is currently a staff clinician and faculty at our home clinic, One Community Health in the Hood River.
Joji Kojima, MD (he/him) - Rush Medical College
Joji completed his residency in 2019 and was in our 4th class of our program. He was born and raised in Tacoma, WA and went to medical school in Chicago at Rush University where he had the opportunity to work with immigrant rights advocates and anti-racist initiatives in the city. He chose to pursue family medicine due to his broad ranging interests in obstetrics, musculoskeletal medicine, and adolescent medicine. Some of his other life pursuits include capoeira, kizomba, and other lusophone culture. He speaks Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, and Korean. He sees medicine as a direct way to combat systemic racism and poverty that afflict oppressed communities. He chose Hood River Family Medicine because of the intimate feel of the program, the commitment to social justice and spirit of independence evinced by the senior residents and faculty. His academic and CQI project was on Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring. He was a National Health Service Corp Scholar and began his post residency career as a family physician practicing obstetrics and family medicine for the Yakima Valley Health Center in Grandview and Prosser Washington. He now practices on the island of Oahu Hawaii.
Morgan Shier, MD (she/her) - Ross University School of Medicine
Morgan grew up in rural Trinidad, Colorado and graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder with a degree in Integrative Physiology. She attended Ross University School of Medicine in Dominica, West Indies. Prior to medical school, she lived in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala where she participated in the Somos Hermanos Student Immersion Program during which she became fluent in Spanish. She has always been passionate about women’s health, rural medicine, and the social determinants of health. Beyond medicine, she enjoys spending time in nature, coming up with plots for science fiction movies with her husband, and writing short stories and satire. Her academic project was in Reducing Gender Bias in Resident Evaluations. She is currently in private practice in Trinidad, Colorado where she does prenatal and delivery care, home births and is a primary care family medicine back in her home town.
Mariah completed her residency in 2018 and we quickly asked her to join our practice at One Community Health to become a medical provider and faculty (see more under faculty). She chose Family medicine as it was a natural fit for her holistic perspective on health, and the importance she places on sustained relationships with her patients. Mariah’s specific interests remain in integrative medicine, women's health, office-based procedures, palliative care and global health. The Hood River Rural Training Program was a perfect fit for her sense of adventure, her passion for working with underserved populations, her love of the outdoors, and her desire to work with like-minded, compassionate and inspired practitioners. She felt extremely lucky to have found a program with so many excellent, kind teachers and role models--a program that fosters individual growth within a supportive community. Her scholarly project was on “Patient Interactions and Difficult Topics in Spanish”. She is featured in our new residency video. Mariah is now one of our faculty and lead clinicians at One Community Health in Hood River.
Dana joined us as a resident in 2017 after completed 2 years of an internal medicine residency in San Francisco. She realized she was really a family doctor and came to our program because of our commitment to teaching full spectrum care and to work with a Spanish speaking population. She studied Medical Anthropology at UC Berkeley, traveling to India as an undergraduate to study Ayurvedic Medicine and Medical Anthropology at the University of Delhi. She completed medical school in Guadalajara, Mexico, at a medical program affiliated with New York Medical College, where she got a close-up look into medical practice in Latin America. She continues in her interests in community organization, mental health, serving low-income populations, and international medicine. Dana’s residency project was on Syphilis Outbreaks and tracking. She currently works at the Lifelong Community Health Center in Berkeley California and has recently been accepted in the UCSF Contra Costa Medical Center 2 year Global Health Fellowship. She serves as faculty on the inpatient service at Highland Hospital, Oakland, California and plans on to continue her work in Global Health.
Matt Sperry, MD (he/him) - Oregon Health & Science University
Matt was the only resident we graduated in 2017 and many joke this was because his brain was so big there was no room for another resident in the program that year. Certainly, he impressed us with his excellent knowledge base, teaching abilities and procedural dexterity that was only matched by his keen ability to expertly critique any published medical journal article right down to the statistical method. During residency, Matt had a keen interest in point-of-care ultrasound, but he also was remarkable for his comfort in working in all areas of our hospital and took advantage of the opportunities our residency offers to gain the skills to become a full spectrum family physician. He joined his senior resident Peter Benziger at Columbia Gorge Family Medicine in Hood River and is a fully privileged member of the medical staff at Hood River Memorial Hospital where he provides inpatient medicine, pediatric, neonatal and obstetrical care. Our residents are fortunate to have him and his colleagues as role models.
Peter Benziger, MD (he/him) - Tufts University School of Medicine
Peter works as a full-spectrum family medicine doctor at Columbia Gorge Family Medicine in Hood River. He continues to enjoy full continuity of care by practicing outpatient medicine, obstetrics, and inpatient care of his patients when they are hospitalized at Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital. He is married to our faculty Kate McKenna. His academic project was in Pre-gestational Diabetes screening and management in our largely Hispanic patient population.
Jared works as a hospitalist at Adventist Health in The Dalles, OR. Jared focused his elective time on ICU care and procedures and continues to enjoy these activities in his current career. He is still involved in our residency as a guest teacher and interviewer. His academic and CQI project was on Food Insecurity the Veggie Rx project
