Medical Lake Family Practice adds two new care providers

By CARA LORELLO

Staff Reporters

Last week the Free Press reported on Rockwood Clinic's plans for relocating and expanding patient services at Medical Lake Family Practice.

To accommodate the expanse, the clinic recently added two new full-time care providers to its staff, Holly Bassler, and Barbara Tritt.

Bassler, who joined the practice last August, is a certified doctor of osteopathic medicine (D.O.). Osteopathic doctors are the equivalent to a regular M.D., licensed to prescribe medication and perform surgeries. The two, however, differ in terms of physician training and approach to patient are. D.O.s belong to a separate, yet equal branch of traditional medical care that, as Bassler, explained, provides “extra training in the musculoskeletal system.” Patients get a wider range of care options they may not have available through traditional physical therapy or chiropractic care.

“It's a field with great demand right now, one that's not limited by insurance carriers; you don't get as many restrictions with osteopathics. What I'm doing is covered,” Bassler said.

D.O.s use a preventative health care technique called osteopathic manipulative treatment, or OMT, to diagnose illness and injury. OMT is combined with other available medical options for a comprehensive treatment approach designed to encourage the body's natural tendencies toward better health.

According to the American Osteopathic Medicine Association, D.O.s “fill a critical need for physicians by practicing in rural and other medically underserved communities.”

Tritt is a graduate of University of Washington's MEDEX Northwest Physician Assistant Training Program. Prior to earning certification, she worked 12 years as a registered nurse, which included urgent care through Rockwood Clinic.

The P.A. certification, she said, afforded a higher level of autonomy with patients, which was one reason she switched from nursing.

“I get to see the same gamut of patients every provider here sees. I've always enjoyed what I do, the field never gets boring,” Tritt said.

Prior to joining Medical Lake Family Practice, both Bassler and Tritt worked for two to three and half years at Spokane's Chas Denny Murphy Clinic, a non-profit federally qualified community clinic that provides medical and dental care to families and individuals of all ages, regardless of their ability to pay.

The environment Bassler said was typical of a regular family practice, without the restrictions of insurance. It was a priceless learning experience, Tritt added.

“I liked that I got to see and help people who may have had difficulty finding help with another system,” she said.

Tritt will be managing the clincic's anti-coagulation therapy services while provider Jaime Crocker is on maternity leave until after the first of next year. The move to the new location at North Stanley Professional Building will add new equipment currently not available for procedures, such as colposcopies, and other women's health treatments.

Osteopathics and women's health are two specialized areas Medical Lake Family practice can now expand on with the addition Bassler and Tritt as full-time providers, practice manager Colleen Kirk said.

“We've always provided primary care here, and these are specialty services we can now offer from here as well,” Kirk said.

Cara Lorello can be reached at [email protected]