FOR
RELEASE: IMMEDIATELY
DATE: May 18, 2009
CONTACT: Rod
Stephenson: (206) 878-3710, ext. 3696; rstephen@highline.edu
Lisa Skari: (206) 870-3705, lskari@highline.edu
Highline Community College honors local health care advocate
Author
Dr. Linda Petter named 2009 Distinguished Alumni Award winner
The
Auburn resident will be honored 3 p.m. June 11 during the college’s
commencement ceremony at the
“I’m
flattered and honored to win this award,” said Petter, a 1983 Highline
graduate. “If it wasn’t for Highline, I don’t believe that I would be where I’m
at today. My career was defined at Highline.”
She
came to Highline in 1980 wanting to be a nurse, but changed her career path
after receiving encouragement from various people, including one Highline
professor. “I told him I wanted to be a doctor, and he told me I could be
anything I wanted to be,” Petter said.
Petter
has spent her career striving to improve the quality of health care through
patient education.
She
uses her Website, books and public-speaking appearances to consistently promote
her message. In addition, she has a regular feature at 7:45 a.m. Sundays on
KOMO-AM 1000.
“Dr.
Petter’s personal and professional accomplishments since graduating from
Petter
recently started her own Website, www.docforall.com,
which provides direct access via e-mail, Webcam, telephone and instant
messaging to a doctor at any time.
She
started the Website because she believed that all people should have the right
to know basic health care information. “Everyone should have contact with a
doctor even if they do or do not have insurance,” said Petter, the chief of the
Department of Family Practice at
In
addition, her self-help book, “Common Medical Sense,” contains practical
information about health-care problems, including sleep disorders, depression,
weight loss, nutrition, high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes and aging.
The book was published in 2005.
She
wrote her second book, “Health Care on a Budget,” because “I thought that the
inside information that doctors know should be shared with patients,” Petter
said. She is currently seeking a publisher.
After
graduating from Highline, Petter earned bachelor’s degrees in molecular biology
and English from the
She graduated
in 1993 from the University of Osteopathic Medicine & Health Sciences in
She
completed her residency training at the Mayo Clinic in 1995 and
The
Distinguished Alumnus Award honors a former Highline student who has made
outstanding contributions through community service, noteworthy professional
achievement and/or recognized leadership.
Former
Seattle Mayor Norm Rice, who attended Highline in 1968–69, was the first
recipient of the award in 1990. Other past honorees include Junki Yoshida, CEO
of the Yoshida Group; Ezra Teshome, agent with State Farm Insurance and TIME
magazine global health hero; and
For
more information about past honorees, visit www.funds4highline.org.
With
the most diverse population of any college in
###
Attachment:
Photo
of Dr. Linda Petter.
Photo credit: Courtesy of Dr. Linda Petter.