Dr. Powell celebrates 22 years in Odessa

In August, Linda J. Powell, MD will have completed 22 years at the Odessa Clinic. This is something OMHC would like to proudly acknowledge. Imagine. That means over 140,000 hours of call (not over 15 minutes from town) and more than 30,000 visits in the clinic over the past 22 years! This means treating family and friends as well, and going the extra mile to help oversee the healthcare here in Odessa.

She attended medical school at the State University of New York (SUNY) in Syracuse and completed her three-year residency as Chief of Residents at Wyoming Family Practice Residency in Casper, Wyo. She and her husband Steven were looking for a small rural town that was half way between Los Angeles and upstate New York, hence Odessa. Dr. Powell, Steven and their two-month old son Zack arrived in August 1992.

She and Steven have three children (all three graduates of Odessa High School) who have always been involved in many different sports, family and community activities. When there is spare time, Dr. Powell enjoys cooking (especially desserts), sewing, golfing, boating and any family activities.

Being active in the community, she is often seen involved with the Odessa Healthcare Foundation annual auction and winetasting event as a foundation board member. In the past she has been a key organizer in the healthcare sponsored golf tournament. She also helps with other organizations such as FBLA, Knowledge Bowl, Historical Society, Women's Health Night or other fundraising activities that are important to her or her family.

Dr. Powell is the Chief of Medical Staff at Odessa Memorial Healthcare Center and Medical Director of Life Care Center in Ritzville. She is a member of the Washington State Medical Association and the American Board of Family Medicine. She stays current in certifications, including certification in Family Medicine; Basic, Advanced Cardiac, Trauma and Pediatric Life Support. She sees patients in the Odessa Rural Health Clinic/Odessa Memorial Healthcare Center along with Danny "DJ" Jones, PA-C and Craig Olson, MD. She speaks Spanish and French. She has dedicated herself to providing quality care to the community and the surrounding area of Odessa.

It is important to Dr. Powell that there continue to be rural doctors serving rural communities in the future and that these folks know what it is like to raise a family in and serve a rural community and surrounding area as the healthcare provider. For this reason, she is a member of the faculty of the University of Washington, which involves supervising residents at the Family Practice Residency Program in Spokane monthly, hosting and teaching a Rural Underserved Opportunities Program student for a month each year here in Odessa, and hosting for one week each year students from the WAMI (Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho) Program at the University showing them what it is like to be in rural medicine.

Other organizations have recognized her dedication to rural medicine and Odessa. She is a past recipient of the Washington Rural Health Association's Outstanding Practitioner Award and the Doc Hollywood Award given by the Indiana Rural Health Association to a doctor who has shown dedication toward improving healthcare in his/her own underserved rural community.

Odessa Memorial Healthcare Center appreciates the years of dedication by Dr. Powell and her commitment to providing quality healthcare to the community and being an active member of the community. Here's to Doctor Powell!