"Richard L. Faiola, MD, completed medical training at Loma Linda University. Three years of specialty training in Hinsdale, IL followed, where he served as Chief Resident and became Board Certified in Family Medicine. On completing two years of service with the U.S. Air Force, he joined the Steck Medical Group, Chehalis, WA in 1981. In 2001, he began a full-time international locum tennens ("rent-a-doc") career working or volunteering in Washington, Idaho, Wisconsin, India, Barbuda, Germany, and New Zealand. While his own building was under construction, he continued his locums work at Sea Mar Community Health Center and Group Health Cooperative, both in Olympia. Dr. Faiola opened his own rapidly growing private practice, Heritage Family Medicine, on the west side of Olympia, WA, in February, 2006. Throughout his career, he has been a leader in both clinical and administrative aspects of medical practice. For eight years, he was the Medical Director of the Providence Centralia Hospital Rehabilitation Service. Under his leadership, this unit grew from 4 to 14 certified beds. The unit made a profit for the hospital each year under his direction. With growth, Dr. Faiola resigned in favor of recruiting a full time physiatrist. Dr. Faiola served many of his years at the Steck Medical Group (SMG) as its President, Chairman of the Board, or Managing Partner. He was largely responsible for guiding its growth to a multi-campus leader in regional health care, voted "Best in Lewis County" by readers of the local newspaper. At its peak SMG rostered 21 clinicians in full or part-time practice, and 140 employees. Dr. Faiola, left SMG in 2001 for his locums career. During his tenure, he conceived of and organized the popular Woodland Urgent Care Center and the Woodland Center for Mental Health. He was the Medical Review Officer for industry drug and alcohol screening programs. His philosophy of care, that has not changed, is well stated in this 1992 memo to the SMG staff. "As an institution, we must become known for more than just text book appropriate care...We must, as a team, make our patients feel more comfortable, more satisfied, more respected, more cared for, less inconvenienced, less embarrassed, less "talked down to" than in any other medical setting. The upbeat attitude, the second-mile going, the smiles, and friendliness of our employees, along with the skills of our physicians will be important determinants of our success." Dr. Faiola was the founder and President of the Board of the Lewis County Medical Service Organization (LCMSO), a contracting entity representing all of the family physicians and pediatricians of Chehalis-Centralia in their relationships with insurers. He served as an executive officer of the Pro-Health Alliance (PHA), a similar contracting organization in Olympia, WA, representing a five county area (and learned a few lessons from its demise in the managed care "melt-down" that hit Washington State at the turn of the new century). He has served two terms as President of the Lewis County Medical Society and been a delegate to the Washington Academy of Family Physicians. He has chaired hospital departments, was a founding member of the Providence Hospital Foundation Board, and has served on the Executive, Ethics and numerous other hospital committees. In 2007, he was elected by his peers as the physician representative of the Physician-Hospital joint venture to the Community Board of Capital Medical Center. He is the owner of Ontos, Inc., a mail-order supplier of skin care products, particularly useful for psoriasis (www.nobleformula.com). Dr. Faiola is active in his church, having let its youth group for many years and now teaching an adult Bible class. He has made three trips to help build schools or churches in Central America and volunteered in Guam, India and Barbuda. He is engaged in his community. He has helped lead United Way campaigns, regularly presents public lectures on health related topics, and taught a recurring health class on contraception and STDs for about 15 years at the W. F. West High School in Chehalis. He has mentored, in his office, Family Practice residents in training from Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Washington and served as temporary full time faculty at the University of Washington, affiliated Providence St. Peter's Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program, Olympia, WA where currently mentors once monthly. He is married to Wenche Faiola, RN, originally from Norway. They have two married adult children, one grandson, two granddaughters and two grand-dogs."
