Q&A: The women behind Capital Women’s Integrated Primary Care

July 12, 2023 | By Kortney Scroger

In June 2022, women across Thurston County formed a Women’s Community Advisory Council along with MultiCare leadership to discuss the needs, concerns and vision for women’s health in their community.

“Wellness and access to care are paramount to our quality of life,” says Valerie Fluetsch, Thurston County resident and Women’s Community Advisory Council member. “Taking care of our health is not just important for ourselves, but also for our families and communities.”

This summer, a physician and two advanced practice providers — L. Abigail Tan, MD; Brittany Little, ARNP; and Kerry Gamble, ARNP — will be the first providers to be part of MultiCare Capital Women’s Integrated Primary Care, a new space for women seeking access to quality health care.

Q: What do you love about your job?

Dr. Tan: I love the opportunity to learn and meet new people every day. I also love puzzles, and family medicine is often a series of puzzle-solving exercises.

Little: My patients. I hope to make a positive impact and love helping people to further their education on their health and well-being.

Q: What excites you most about the new MultiCare Capital Women’s Integrated Primary Care?

Dr. Tan: I took a year off in medical school to do a Fulbright in Jordan and I worked in a Women and Children’s Center at one of the refugee camps. It totally shifted my career course, and I see this opportunity as a return to that which fueled my initial interest and passion in medicine. I am most excited about the classes that we’re hoping to provide for our patients to help them learn more about their bodies and health.

Q: What will this new space mean for the women and families of Thurston County?

Little: Women deserve to have unlimited education of their bodies and a health care partner to help with customized care, as their health is not one size fits all. The new space will mean that women and families in Thurston County can have increased access to primary care and specialty services. They can feel at ease knowing they have a medical home.

Q: Why is donor support critical to the work you do?

Dr. Tan: I think it’s important for our communities to show that they support women’s access to health care by donating, whether it’s time, money or resources. MultiCare Capital Women’s Integrated Primary Care is striving to be something different, to look at women’s health as a whole rather than a series of medical problems to treat. To do this we need financial support.

Q: What is your vision for the new space? What are you hoping to see?

Dr. Tan: I am hoping to have more health care providers join the effort to improve outcomes and access for women. I hope it becomes a place where patients feel that they have resources and partners. A place where patients are well cared for because their providers see that treating a young women’s blood pressure is as much about getting her a couple hours of child care access to make the visit as it is about getting her the right medication.

Little: My vision is a safe, supportive environment where women will be comfortable to access care. Somewhere where no topic is off-limits. I hope we get to see specialists and community members partnering with us to increase access to specialty care and community resources for women as well.