Dr. Kami K. Dehler

Natural Advice from New Life - Do you have a health questions fro Dr. Dehler?Sent it to Natural Advice, c/o Winds of Praise Broadcasting, PO Box 491, Newport Oregon 97365.Dr. Kami K. Dehler is a licensed Naturopathic Physician.

Dr. Kami K. Dehler, a licensed naturopathic physician and head of the New Life Family Health and Birth Center in Lincoln City, wants to expand her clinic and turn it into a non-profit outreach center to serve those who otherwise could not afford proper health care.A graduate of the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Dr. Dehler has operated New Life for the past two years. (Photo by Terry Dillman)
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Dr. Kami K. Dehler, a licensed naturopathic physician, has operated New Life Family Health and Birth Center on Mast Avenue for the past two years. "I came to Lincoln City to start a non-profit health center because I saw a huge need to serve the poor - those who otherwise couldn't afford quality health care," Dehler said. The doctor's clinic is based on the principles of naturopathic medicine. After completing undergraduate work in nutritional science at Oregon State University, Corvallis, Dehler earned a four-year doctorate degree from the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, then spent a year in the college's post-doctoral residency program. Founded in 1956, the naturopathic medicine college is the oldest accredited school of naturopathic medicine in North America, with the nation's only certified post-doctoral naturopathic residency program.Its four-year program - leading to a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine degree - trains "holistic primary care physicians" and prepares them for exams in states such as Oregon that license naturopathic physicians. "With naturopathic methods, we try to get to the root of the problem, to find out what's really going on, then use the least invasive methods of treatment to facilitate healing with minimal side effects," Dehler said. Naturopathic medicine is a system of primary health care that blends the modern, traditional, and natural methods and practices for diagnosing, treating, and preventing disease. It's a mix of art, science, and philosophy, featuring six underlying principles: · The healing power of nature.This means the body's inherent vitality and ability not only to heal itself and restore health, but also ward off disease. · Treat the whole person.Health and disease are a complex interaction of physical, mental, emotional, genetic, spiritual, environmental, social, and other factors.
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"Health is a reflection of how we choose to live," Dehler added."Physicians must help patients recognize those choices and how those choices affect their health." · Doctors as teachers.Physicians should educate patients to encourage self-responsibility for their health. Naturopathic doctors must complete pre-medical and basic science education requirements that meet or exceed any other medical program.They follow that with four years of intensive medical training, during which they learn all the diagnostic, clinical, and therapeutic skills needed for a naturopathic family practice.Additional course work and clinical training is required for those who - like Dehler - decide to specialize in natural childbirth and homeopathy.
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Certified in obstetrics, Dehler delivers babies, providing in- and out-of-hospital births."Right now, out-of-hospital means home births," she said."We have no facilities to do otherwise." That situation could change, if things work out the way she hopes they will, the way she believes they have already. Dehler - born Kami Olson - grew up in Coos Bay, and at first had her sights set on Hawaii after finishing medical school.
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But for Dehler, it goes beyond healing bodies and minds to healing their hearts and souls. She and Ben - with volunteer help from Lisa Morrigan, who serves as the center's executive director, and a lot of patients "who want to give back to other people" - have turned the health clinic into "a little mission" they and others would like to see expand.
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Although a large percentage of her patients are enrolled in the Oregon Health Plan or Medicare, Dehler does not accept the insurance payments.She sees needs that go far beyond medical care, and she wants to provide a place to meet those needs. "A lot of our patients have lost hope.They're desperate," Dehler said."We want to show them there is hope, and there are possibilities." Her goal is to build a Center for Healing, where she can provide for all their needs - physical, mental, emotional, spiritual - in a place that truly embodies the naturopathic principle of treating the whole person, a place to serve all stages of life, from birth to death - that is, from delivering babies to providing hospice-style care for terminally-ill patients. To do so will require a blending of the healing aspect with the business aspect of getting the word out and drumming up much-needed moral, in-kind, and financial support.The impetus is already building. "It's all been word-of-mouth so far about the work I've been doing," Dehler said.Many individuals and organizations, including a lot of churches, have already come forward.Companies "excited about what we're doing" donate most of the medicines they give out. Dehler hopes to integrate other medical practitioners - physical therapists, massage therapists, chiropractors, dentists - into the mix.She is also working with potential future naturopathic practitioners: high school and OSU students who go to the clinic to observe and learn. "We came into a place of want to help heal," she noted."We don't want any patient to feel turned away or shut out."