Continuing our new physician spotlight series on the blog, we recently caught up with Dr. Brenda Houmard and asked her a few questions.

SRM: Dr. Houmard, where did you grow up?

Near Painesville, Ohio—a small city about 40 miles east of Cleveland and along Lake Erie.

SRM: When did you decide you wanted to go into medicine?

It was my freshman year in college. I went to college knowing I wanted to do something in science. I thought maybe I would be a research lab technician. Then I started science classes and met a lot of people who were pre-med and I thought, that’s what I want – to be able to help people.

SRM: What brought you to Spokane?

After fifteen years on the faculty at the University of Washington, I decided I wanted to join SRM because I knew it was the kind of place where I could practice high-quality, patient-centered care. I moved to Spokane in the fall of 2013 to launch SRM’s new clinic.

SRM: What do you enjoy about living in eastern Washington?

My husband and I both love living in eastern Washington. As native Midwesterners, we feel at home in the local culture because it’s down to earth and has a Midwest feel. We also love the culture of being outdoors here. We like to downhill ski on nearby mountains and take our speed boat out on area lakes.

SRM: What do you do to relax outside of work?

We have a Golden Retriever puppy named Kallie who is a lot of fun. We also have a little dune buggy, a two seater, we like to mostly ride around our property, which is ten acres of land close to the Idaho border.  We often travel back to Seattle to visit our two grown kids.

Click here to learn a little more about Dr. Brenda Houmard.