I am a sports medicine physician with a practice locally called Sports Health Northwest. I graduated from medical school in 2000 and completed residency training in Florida, and fellowship training in sports medicine in Ohio at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
After completing my fellowship, I moved back to Florida to work for a clinic in their Department of Orthopedics from 2004 to 2018. Prior to attending medical school, I graduated from Washington State University and then went to California for medical school.
In 2020, I had the privilege of starting my practice at Sports Health Northwest. We focus on individuals with a variety of different sports injuries or musculoskeletal orthopedic type conditions. We do a lot of what’s called interventional orthopedics; we work with athletes and individuals of all ages and capabilities. We have been able to develop a practice here locally serving the community to help improve individuals activity levels, quality of life and helping individuals with getting back to sport, work and recovering from injury.
Sports injuries commonly involve the knee and shoulder. With my training, I mainly focus on upper and lower extremities as well as some non-surgical spine care for the neck and back. I’m not a surgeon as an orthopedic surgeon per se, but I do a lot of non-surgical and interventional type procedures in the office and in the operating room type setting.
Q: Please tell us a little bit about your family.
A: I have a wonderful wife, Marina. We’ve been married for 23 years this summer and have been blessed to have two children. Our oldest daughter, Giselle, is a sophomore studying psychology at the University of Oregon. We have a son; he’s about to turn 18 and is a senior at Lakeridge High.
Q: Tell us about your current, past or future career. What do you love most about what you do?
A: One of the things I really enjoy about my career is that in the realm of orthopedics and sports medicine, we’re focused on improving quality of life. I find a lot of satisfaction in being able to work with individuals and figuring out what they were doing before their injury, or how their pain is adversely affecting their ability to do their daily activities. I work with them to improve their quality of life, pain control and function so that they can get back in the game, whether it’s the game of sport, the game of life or getting them back to what they enjoy.
Q: Is that something that you see yourself doing or maybe even evolving over time over the next 30 years?
A: I really enjoy teaching the future generation of physicians. I stay actively involved with teaching local residents and doctors who are in training. That’s certainly something I hope to continue to grow over the remainder of my career… to continue to lead in the field, to do what I can to stay current and continue to reinvent my practice. I want to provide best level of evidenced-based care for patients, while combining that with cutting edge therapies to help improve individuals’ healing and and recovery while providing the best level of care and function as possible. I enjoy what I do and look forward to doing it for many years to come.
Q: What are a couple of your favorite restaurants in our community?
A: One of our favorite Italian places locally is Nicoletta’s Table and Marketplace. It’s an Italian restaurant, locally owned near where we live. It’s wonderful because my son also works there as a busser and we’ve gotten to know other staff and really enjoy their homemade desserts and food. Also my wife and I enjoy French food quite a bit and a restaurant that has several locations in the area, La Provence, is another of our favorite places to stop in.
Q: How long have you lived or worked in our community?
A: I’ve been in this area for about five years, that’s mainly been working as a physician in my practice. I am also affiliated with Providence Medical Group locally. I have enjoyed the time here and getting to know the area; we really enjoy the natural beauty of Northwest. It’s great to be back here with family and friends; since we moved here we have other family that have relocated here from the east coast as well as our extended family and in-laws. We really have developed quite a local family network here and really enjoy the blessings of being with family close by. It’s wonderful to be close and be able to share holidays and events together.
Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in our community?
A: I’ve had the privilege of meeting several really interesting individuals. One that stands out to me is Donald Kramer. Don is an attorney who I’ve gotten to know through some of the different men’s groups that he’s involved with and peripherally through his professional career as an attorney. Don knows a lot of people, is a wonderful guy, and is a great example for combining relationships and leadership qualities.
Q: What is one of your favorite movies or TV shows?
A: I like just about any movie with Tom Hanks. From Cast Away to Forrest Gump and even movies like Sully, he’s a great actor. He’s in Saving Private Ryan, for example, and has made some wonderful movies throughout his life. For favorite TV series, my wife and I have been addicted to the Yellowstone series and some of the prequels surrounding it lately.
Q: What advice would you give to people?
A: We live in such a busy society and busy world right now. The demands for individuals of all ages are fairly great as far as time and the need to accomplish a lot in a short period of time. My advice would be to work on maintaining a level of presence to the time you are in currently. To emphasize that time with others is really important, and what we typically look back on is the relationship we have developed. So I would advise individuals to sometimes sacrifice the pursuit of your career related objectives by focusing more on relationships, friendships, and time with your loved ones. I think those are things that we sometimes don’t always emphasize as much as we should, and before we know it a lot of time is passed by. Cherish the opportunities you have to be present in the moment and enjoy the community or companionship you are with and focus on savoring those relationships that will have lasting impact.
Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique about our community?
A: I certainly appreciate the Northwest and the ability to take in the beauty of nature, and slow down a bit whether its hiking on a trail and enjoying being in the canopy of beautiful tall Cedars or Furs or being able to take in time at the coast. I just love the natural beauty of Oregon, from the mountains to the forest to the coast, and being outdoors and the wonderful waterways and rivers here.
There’s just so much to do year round, and so enjoy taking advantage of skiing in the winter and being on the water in the summer and just hike and wildlife surroundings.
Q: Is there a place that you like to take care or friends when they’re in town?
A: We have a fondness for the Oregon Coast, and if we can take our family or friends out to the Oregon Coast, that’s something we certainly enjoy doing. We find that the coast is a wonderful place… to enjoy the natural beauty, the rugged cliffs, the hikes and views that can be achieved. Usually that leaves quite the lasting impression on individuals who haven’t been to Oregon previously.
Sometimes we will visit anywhere from Cannon Beach, to Seaside, to Manzanita, and to Lincoln City, of course. And Tillamook, also, which is known for its ice cream. Sometimes we will head over to towards the bay or some of the surrounding areas such as Oceanside, etc.
Whenever friends or others that we know from other parts of the country come to visit us here, they’re always impressed at how friendly people are and how individuals might even reach out to them to say hi as as strangers.
Q: What is something interesting that most people don’t know about you? Even friends or family?
A: Something that most friends and family don’t necessarily know about me is I really like tinkering with things. I love to change my own oil in my car and do projects with my hands. Sometimes, I’ll bite off more than I can chew, but I definitely like the challenge of trying something new, and applying skills that provide some additional new stimulus for me that is hands on.
About a year and a half a year ago, my wife and I got a place near the coast and we spent a ton of time fixing that up. I really enjoy the idea of rehabilitating something and making it into something that other individuals can also enjoy; to see how hard work and sweat equity can transform a place into something that is beautiful and also preserves the history and natural aspects of the original design.
Q: Is there a current or former local business that makes you the most nostalgic about our community?
A: I think there’s certain things that I associate with the community quite a bit. Along the lines of the outdoors, I think about Columbia Sportswear and how it’s just everywhere I’ve been. That brand has a following, whether it was related to its outdoor style, or affinity for being on the water or fishing…. whether it’s the east coast or the west coast. I always think about the Columbia brand, the Columbia River, things that have been meaningful for me throughout my teen and adult years.
Q: Who inspires you to be better?
A: I’ve been blessed to have a number of different mentors in my life who inspired me to achieve or continually try to improve myself. One person who certainly inspires me to be better is my dad. Shortly after birth, he acquired polio and has had a lifelong disability. Throughout that, he has maintained a positive, can-do attitude. He has been able to excel academically and had a great career as a PhD in the environmental sciences field. He inspires me to be better.
Even though at times I feel I’ve got some type of hardship or challenge to contend with, I don’t need to look very far to see someone who’s been challenged, unable to run their entire life, or walked with the cane or needed a wheelchair to get around. I find people who overcome disabilities or other physical challenging to be very inspiring.
My dad never has let his disability interfere with him as much as possible, or never used it as an excuse. I think his commitment to doing the best he could is quite the testimony. Based on his example, he has had a profound influence on myself and my siblings in our choice of career. I have a brother who is a physician and a sister who is a nurse practitioner. So we all found our ways into healthcare subconsciously or unconsciously. Maybe that influenced us to a degree.
Q: If you could choose anyone that’s alive today and not a relative, with whom would you love to have lunch. And why and where locally would y’all meet for this lunch?
A: I had an opportunity to hear a little bit of an interview with Condoleezza Rice and I really find her story to be inspirational: having grown up in the segregated south and then having her going onto becoming a wonderful pianist, serving in the academic realm at Stanford, her political career as a Secretary of State and her experience in Russian related linguistics. What an amazing individual, with a lot of different stories and experiences! She’s got a lot of respect around the world, and then across different political spectrums. So I think she would be someone who I’d really enjoy spending time with over lunch and learning more about her stories and experiences. And she is just an interesting person.
As far where to go? I’d pretty much like to meet her anywhere she’d like to have lunch.
Q: Please tell us about your youth, perspective on life and what has shaped who you have become.
I was born in the segregated south, in Mississippi. As a child, I was taught in a single room classroom; it was a small town, in a rural setting. I had a lot of different and wonderful experiences being able to roam and almost be like a ferrel kid where there wasn’t a lot of concerns of what happened if we spent the day wondering in around.
As a teenager, I moved to the Northwest and it has become home to me in many ways; living here has been instrumental in helping me develop a love for not only its natural beauty, but also an appreciation for a more diverse and open way of thinking. The open approach to a variety of different complicated topics and problems is a wonderful influence; I’ve really been blessed to be able to be challenged in ways from a different perspective. It has helped influence me to be more open to a variety of different viewpoints, perspectives, the world and life in general, and has certainly been a unique aspect of developing me into what I feel as who I am, and even as just a better person.
Both of our kids were born in South Florida. For them to be growing up in a melting pot of cultures, at least in their early phases of development, was a wonderful experience for them. Many times at school or church where they would be considered a minority. I was born in the US and my wife was born in Argentina and she immigrated to the US when she was a teenager. That perspective has really helped our kids develop into who they are and how they view the world and individuals of different backgrounds. There are a lot of benefits to having that experience growing up, just to be able to see different perspectives, different people and just appreciate the wonderful diversity. Being able to embrace other cultures, other aspects of human identity and just being able to have the world and so much more at their fingertips from an internet and travel standpoint. It’s so much more easier to access information.
Q: What do you rate a 10 out of 10?
A: A 10 out 10 for me is just a warm, sunny summer day at the Oregon coast with friends and food and enjoying the sunset with a fire and maybe a little local Oregon wine or some local brew as well.
Q: What three words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word home?
A: Home Depot, holidays and family experiences… having friends and family over, some type of celebration.
