Meghan’s growing up years were spent in Ohio where she received her Master of Science degree with a major in Physician Assistant Studies in 2011. Prior to that she served a tour of duty with the US Marine Corp. She trained in South Carolina which was the only place where female recruits could go. Ratio of females to males in Marine Corps is 90 to 1. After that she trained for her job (fixing helicopters in avionics) in Florida. She spent her five year tour of duty in San Diego, CA. “Challenging opportunities usually make me work very hard to succeed,” she said. “I was the first female in charge over my shop in the history of my squadron. We formed lasting relationships and I am still in contact with a lot of the friends I made during that time.”

• VIEW MEGHAN’S WELCOME VIDEO

After becoming a certified physician assistant, Meghan spent the next six years working in emergency medicine. She made a decision to switch from that line of work to a regular family practice setting when she returned from maternity leave last year. “I had worked in emergency rooms for six years,” she said. “I found I didn’t feel the same enthusiasm for it than I had previously felt. The ER is such a hectic, fast paced environment. You have such a short period of time to build a relationship with a patient. You usually don’t know what happens to them once they leave the ER. It just gets to a person after you’ve done it for a long period of time.” She also worked the night shift which is sometimes understaffed. “That was hard; however, there was a closeness among staff when we worked together for a common cause. I learned a lot those years and enjoyed having had the opportunity to serve patients in that setting.”

Now she’s excited to be doing a new thing at CBHA! “I see a tight knit group of people in this community and I am excited to be a part of it. I look forward to treating patients with a wide variety of medical needs and developing relationships with families,” Meghan said. “CBHA is a community health center and I like their commitment to always be on the lookout for new ways to improve quality of care to benefit the patients.”

Meghan and her family are already enjoying Eastern Washington and its beautiful scrub steppe landscape. “We went for a hike in the wildlife refuge on Eastern Sunday,” she said. “It was 59 degrees and beautiful out there!” Meghan also likes to snow board, walk & run (she’s done marathons) swim, cook and travel. She has fond memories of a trip with her 14 year old daughter where they googled “The cheapest plane ticket in the US” and found themselves having a great vacation to South and North Dakota. Meghan and her husband also have a one year old son.