By Kristine Thomas
When Kelsey Hupp was 7 years old, she crafted a plan to avoid getting her blood drawn at the doctor’s office.
Telling the nurse that she wasn’t allowed near her with the needle, she pointed to her family physician, Dr. Rodney Orr, and declared only he could draw her blood.
“She had never seen Dr. Orr do that so she thought it was a safe bet asking him, hoping that she could get out of it,” said Cindy Hupp, her mom.
Not only did Kelsey have to have her blood drawn, she also had to write Orr an apology note.
“She wrote that she was sorry that she was rude but she thought he wouldn’t do it,” Cindy said.
Describing herself as a little “twerp” back then, Kelsey Hupp is grateful to Orr and his staff for playing an important role in her life.
Not only did he deliver her in April of 1988 at Silverton Hospital and serve as her family doctor growing up, he also inspired her to pursue a medical career and hired her for her first job.
On July 8, Hupp began her first day at Family Medical Group as a family nurse practitioner.
THE HUPP FILE
Kelsey Hupp, 25, has joined
Family Medical Group in Silverton
as a family nurse practitioner.
She graduated from the University
of Washington in June with a
master’s degree in nursing
and her doctor of nurse practice.
(FNP, DNP)
FAMILY: She is the daugher of
Jan and Cindy Hupp.
Siblings: Molly Hupp Marquam
and Ethan Hupp
FUN FACT: She was named the
Future First Citizen in 2005.
In a February 2006 article in Our Town,
Hupp said she wanted to earn a
master’s in counseling and work
with victims of abuse.
HOBBIES: Water skiing, hiking, running,
spin classes and attending Oregon State games.
YES, IT IS TRUE: Dr. Orr delivered baby Kelsey in
In June, Hupp graduated from the University of Washington with her master’s degree in nursing and her doctor of nurse practice.
Between her older sister Molly Hupp Marquam and younger brother Ethan Hupp, Kelsey Hupp recalls her mom taking one of them to see Dr. Orr – “every 10 days or so.”
“I have always had an incredible interest in medicine and I have never pictured myself doing anything else,” she said. “My healthcare was always a positive experience and I liked coming to see Dr. Orr. I want my patients to love coming to see me.”
Orr is proud of Hupp’s accomplishments and that she chose to return to Silverton to began her medical career and practice.
“It is unique for a Silverton graduate to come back and be a medical professional in our community,” Orr said. “I have watched Kelsey grow up, mature and be educated in our community. It is exciting to have her join our practice.”
Hupp, who was the 2005 Future First Citizen, graduated from Silverton High School in 2006 and the University of Portland in 2010. Although she has enjoyed her time studying in Portland and Seattle, she always knew she wanted to return to Silverton to work. She had other job offers in Oregon, but felt returning to Silverton would be the best fit.
“There is a significant advantage in working in this community because Kelsey has family members and friends who live here and people who know her,” Orr said.
For Hupp, treating her patients means knowing who they are – from what they do for fun to where they work.
Because she wants to develop a relationship with her patients where they know they can share with her what’s happening in their life and with their health, she wants her patients to call her by her first name.
During her residency at the Veterans Administration Puget Sound Health Care System, Hupp said she was supposed to wear a white coat. She never did, saying she lost it.
Describing her daughter as happy, a fighter for the underdog and determined, Cindy Hupp said she is proud of how her family is working in medical professions – her son, Ethan, is a paramedic and husband, Jan, an EMT.
Kelsey Hupp remembers her father leaving for calls or stopping whenever he saw an accident to help.
“I remember my mom telling us not to look when my dad stopped to help at an accident,” she said. “I looked.”
While “normal” families play games at the kitchen table, Cindy Hupp said she has been busy in the kitchen to look up to find Ethan and Kelsey “practicing medical procedures. I appreciate the fact they want to be able to do the procedures right but not at my kitchen table,” she said, laughing.
For Kelsey, she’s glad to be working in her hometown.
Joking that her family says she lives on Interstate 5, Hupp drove from Seattle to Silverton for her clinical rotation, where she shadowed Dr. Shandra Greig. She is eager to continue to learn from her colleagues.
“I think there is an art to practicing medicine that is hard to put in a class,” Orr said. “It is being able to look in a person’s eyes and know there is more going on that they may not be telling you and being sensitive to a patient’s anxiety, worries or fears. I tell the people who work for me to not go into a room with a preconceived notion of what they think is wrong but to rather listen to the patient.”
Describing her approach to medicine as holistic, Hupp said she aims to educate her patients and encourage them to participate in making decisions.
“I want to give my patients options,” she said, adding she saw a patient who is currently taking several medications. Together, they discussed a plan on how to reduce the number of prescriptions and how to achieve that goal.
“My goal is to build a relationship with my patients and be a partner in their healthcare,” she said.
By getting to know her patients, she can understand on how their lifestyle contributes to their overall health. “I am encouraging my patients to send me an email with their blood sugars or blood pressure,” she said. “I want them to know I care and I am here for them.”
