{"id":27231,"date":"2025-12-02T22:45:17","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T22:45:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/?p=27231"},"modified":"2026-01-30T20:04:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T20:04:20","slug":"chapter-seven-the-birth-of-medex-northwest-part-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/magazine\/2025\/12\/02\/chapter-seven-the-birth-of-medex-northwest-part-one\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter Seven: The Birth of MEDEX Northwest, Part One"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t
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Multiply My Hands: <\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Life of Dr. Richard Smith<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

__________<\/span><\/h1>\n

Chapter Seven: <\/span><\/h3>\n

The Birth of MEDEX Northwest, Part One<\/span><\/h3>\n

__________<\/span><\/h1>\n

Written by Erik Steen with Jim Wehmeyer<\/span><\/h1>\n

Edited by Melanee Nelson<\/span><\/h2>\n

MEDEX Northwest Communications<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\t
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\"\"Seattle, Fall 1968<\/i>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The pale Seattle light filtered through the windows as Richard Smith unpacked his few belongings in the small University of Washington office. Rain tapped a gentle\u00a0patter\u00a0against the glass, so different from the urgent percussion of\u00a0the\u00a0East Coast storms\u00a0he was accustomed to. He carefully placed a framed photograph of his family on the desk, then the\u00a0Salefou\u00a0brass figurines\u00a0he\u2019d\u00a0commissioned in Cameroon during his Peace Corps days. Finally, he withdrew a dog-eared notebook from his briefcase, its pages brittle and stained from Nigerian humidity.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He ran his fingers over the notebook\u2019s cover, feeling the weight of memory\u00a0with his touch. Inside were his earliest sketches of the healthcare model he now hoped to build\u2014drawings made by kerosene lamp in remote outposts when the concept was nothing more than a whisper of possibility.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A cold draft slipped through the window frame, and Smith tightened his sweater around his shoulders. The office was spartan compared to the polished surroundings of the Surgeon General\u2019s office\u00a0he\u2019d\u00a0left behind\u00a0in Washington D.C.<\/span>\u00a0No mahogany paneling, no executive chairs, no team of administrative assistants; just a desk, a telephone, and a borrowed typewriter.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He\u00a0let out a slow breath. He had given up power, prestige, and security for this uncertain beginning.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\t

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