02/09/17  Portland, Ore.

At OHSU Family Medicine, we not only make sure that all of our patients have access to the best care possible, we set our sights on making sure absolutely everyone has access to quality healthcare. Thus, it's no surprise that on Saturday, January 21, when millions of marchers hit the streets to march for women's rights and the rights of our marginalized communities, they were joined by a few of our very own from OHSU Family Medicine.

Tara O'Connor, P.M.H.N.P gathered a group from OHSU Family Medicine at Richmond to walk in the Women's March in Portland. To O'Connor, the Women's March mission statement – "We stand together, recognizing that defending the most marginalized among us is defending all of us" – summarizes not only her personal philosophy, but her philosophy as a healthcare provider.

Rachael Postman, D.N.P., F.N.P.; Julie Flindt, R.N.; Laurel Hallock-Koppelman, D.N.P., F.N.P.; Emily Jacobsen, P.A. and several others from OHSU Family Medicine journeyed all the way to Washington D.C. for the march. For Postman, a lifelong supporter of health equity, the march was her opportunity to stand up for quality health care access for everyone –especially those who are often underserved and overlooked.

Postman remembers, "What I was most impressed by in D.C…was the diversity in the march speakers —folks from the black lives matter movement, the immigration rights community, the LGBTQ community, the Muslim community, the reproductive rights and abortion rights movement, the native community, the environmental community and others —all coming together for the same cause."

"The experience was exactly what I needed to inspire next steps and continued political action," Postman says. "I challenge all of my colleagues in Family Medicine to show up, step up, speak out and take bold political actions to defend the health and lives of our patients."

Do you have a story from the women's march you would like to share, or stories of our OHSU Family Medicine teams in action? Leave a comment here!