Hands On Medicine, a locally run, community-based primary care clinic, owned and operated by Licensed Family Nurse Practitioner and northeast Portland resident Shelda Holmes, has opened and is now serving patients at 5311 N. Vancouver, just south of Killingsworth.

The clinic accepts all major insurance carriers and also accepts cash payment from those without insurance.

Holmes' family nurse practitioner experience is deeply rooted in the community. She practiced for four years at the Native American Rehabilitation Association, providing primary care to children, adults and elders. Prior to that, she worked for Neighborhood Health Clinics and served as a nurse in the Oregon Health Sciences University Oncology Unit.

She lives in the Piedmont neighborhood of north Portland, where she is active in the neighborhood association and in a host of other community-related activities.

"My mission is to make high quality health care accessible and sustainable for families living in north and northeast Portland," said Holmes. "This clinic is the culmination of my dream of empowering the people of my community with the knowledge, service and support they need to live healthier and to improve their quality of life."

Holmes added that her experiences growing up with a family doctor that provided care to three generations of her family has helped shape her vision of the type of personal care she hopes to provide and relationships she hopes to build with her patients.

Hands On Medicine offers primary care and treatment based upon an integrated medicine philosophy, which takes into account best practices from various modalities of traditional medicine, western allopathic medicine and naturopathic medicine. The clinic offers the full range of primary care services including well-child checks and immunizations, health screenings, women's exams and family planning, chronic disease management, and physical examinations. It also offers massage services through a licensed massage therapist.

For more information, call Holmes at 503-281-0308 or visit the web at handsonmedicine.net.