Helping more Native Americans become physicians to improve health care for all

OHSU Northwest Native American Center of Excellence catalyzes increase in students, faculty who are American Indian, Alaska Native

By Franny White May 02, 2022 Portland, Oregon

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Video for Download: Wy'east Pathway student interviews 2022

Wy'east Pathway students Ashley Wirth, Jacob Smith, and Jeremiah Henderson share how the program has helped them move forward in their career goals. (OHSU/Christine Torres Hicks)

Helping more Native Americans become physicians to improve health care for all

OHSU Northwest Native American Center of Excellence director Erik Brodt, M.D., center, speaks with medical students who previously completed the center’s Wy’est Post-Baccalaureate Pathway on April 12 2022, in Portland, Oregon. Wy’east helps talented Native students overcome obstacles that can otherwise prevent them from studying medicine. (OHSU/Christine Torres Hicks)

Erik Brodt, M.D.

Erik Brodt, M.D., an associate professor of family medicine and assistant dean for Native American health in the Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine, has been elected a member of the National Academy of Medicine. (OHSU/Finn Ryan)

Erik Brodt, M.D. (2)

Erik Brodt, M.D., (left) congratulates a member of the first class of the Wy'East Post-Baccalaureate Pathway, an initiative Brodt helped establish as director of the OHSU Northwest Native American Center of Excellence, in June 2019. Brodt has been elected a member of the National Academy of Medicine. (OHSU/Kristyna Wentz-Graff)

Wy'east Post-Baccalaureate Pathway

Wy'east Post-Baccalaureate Pathway student Jacob Smith gives a poster presentation, June 13, 2019 at OHSU. The Wy'east program provides conditional acceptance into the OHSU medical school, for students who complete the pathway. (OHSU/Kristyna Wentz-Graff)

OHSU M.D. Class of 2024 White Coat Ceremony

From left, Yamileth Murillo, Maliyan Binette and Bret Gilbert relish the moment after their White Coat Ceremony Feb. 11. Binette and Gilbert are members of the second cohort of the Wy’East Post-baccalaureate Pathway, a medical school preparatory pathway for Alaska Native and American Indian students offered by the OHSU Northwest Native American Center of Excellence. (OHSU/Erin Hoover Barnett)

Wy’east Post-Baccalaureate Pathway’s Third Cohort

The third group of students marketed their completion of the OHSU Wy’east Post-Baccalaureate Pathway at a blanket ceremony held June 4, 2021, in Portland, Oregon. Shown here are: (back row, left to right) Michaela Merrill (OHSU School of Medicine M.D. Class of 2021, who mentored Wy’east students), Rochelle Fassler, Mary Brewer, Brent Riley, Michael Mudgett, Danner Peter, Jared Delaney, Jasmine Fernandez, (front row, left to to right) Alexandra Jones, Manuel Rodriguez, Lenora Waconda, Paige Morris, Rebecca Parmenter and Poli Sierra Long. (OHSU/Michael Schmitt)

Northwest Native American Center of Excellence Blanket Ceremony

The OHSU Northwest Native American Center of Excellence honors OHSU American Indian and Alaska Native students every spring with a blanket ceremony. At the June 4, 2021, ceremony, center director Erik Brodt, M.D. (right) and former center Tribal Health Scholars Program Coordinator Sarah Ramussen-Rehkopf (left) placed a blanket on the shoulders of OHSU School of Medicine 2021 M.D. graduate Michaela Meriill, M.D. Merrill founded an OHSU chapter of the Association of Native American Medical Students, mentored other OHSU Native students, and started a family medicine residency in Idaho after graduating from OHSU. (OHSU/Michael Schmitt)

Jared Delaney, B.S.

Jared Delaney, shown here on April 12, 2022, enrolled in the OHSU School of Medicine after completing the OHSU Wy’east Post-Baccalaureate Pathway in June 2021. (OHSU/Christine Torres Hicks)

Jacob Smith, B.S.

Jacob Smith, B.S., is a 26-year-old descendant of the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla (Walla Walla) who grew up in Hillsboro. Smith was a member of the first Wy’east cohort, and is now a third-year OHSU medical student who is preparing to apply for dermatology residency programs. (OHSU/Christine Torres Hicks)