Families offer many tales of ‘above and beyond’ care by Washougal physician assistant and staff
A huge crowd of supporters showed up Monday afternoon at the office of Scott Miller in Washougal. He is a physician assistant who has devoted his career to caring for children as a pediatrician. But in the era of COVID-19, he was willing to help anyone needing care and treatment.
Between 100 and 150 people came from all around Clark County to support Miller. Patient after patient, and parent after parent told tales of the “above and beyond” efforts Miller and his staff went to in caring for them or their children. They also told stories of saving lives, including senior citizens in their late 80’s, and others with multiple, significant health issues.
Last Friday, the Washington Medical Commission (WMC) suspended Miller’s license to practice. These people carried a message of “I want my doctor back!” They called for the reinstatement of Miller’s license to continue caring for them.
Miller is well known in the community advocating for patient care, boosting their immune system, and encouraging patients to advocate for themselves. Early in the pandemic, before there were vaccines, he was touting the effectiveness of ivermectin and other treatments to battle COVID-19. He often referenced the recommendations of the Front Line Covid Critical Care Alliance and Dr. Pierre Kory.
“Call him Dr. Scott,” exclaimed Kelli Stewart. “Do you know how many heads have been exploding when I call him Dr. Scott? People are losing their minds and he’s not a doctor. He’s a licensed physician assistant and he’s my doctor.”
Stewart shared that a new website has been created with information about the WMC suspension and how people can help. They have also created a new Christian-based donation site that gives 100 percent of the contributions to the Miller defense fund at Give Send Go.
Brooke’s tale
One tale came from 87-year-old Brooke. She is a retired nurse with a master’s degree in Nursing Education. “I am passionate for doctor Scott Miller,” she said. She has taught at Clark College and at PeaceHealth.
Brooke and her husband and two siblings left on Sept. 19 to visit family in Montana. They found their somewhat disabled elderly brother and his wife in the home of their children, who were both bedridden with COVID sickness. They immediately brought their brother and his wife back to Vancouver.
The next day, the brother broke out with a 101 degree fever. He had bad coughing spells. Brooke’s husband broke out with a 100.4 fever. They all needed medical treatments. A friend recommended Miller, so Brooke brought the group to his Washougal office. All of them tested positive for COVID-19.
“They took us in as patients,” Brooke said. “We went home and this wonderful volunteer team of nurses brought all kinds of things for us. They ministered to us and gave us counsel. They were always ready. What a blessing to this community.”
On Oct 17, the entire group tested negative for COVID. “We didn’t have to bury anybody,” she said, praising the care and efforts of Miller and his team of nurses and staff. She spoke about his kindness and his telephone calls to see how they were. She spoke of his dedication through God to serve our community.
Brooke spoke about the Washington Medical Commission that suspended Miller’s license “How many COVID patients have they treated,” Brooke asked. “Shame on them!” she exclaimed. She knows of far too many patients who were sent home with no treatments until they got so sick that they had to be admitted to the ICU.
Other Miller supporters
Other patients stepped forward to share their stories of Miller’s care and compassion. His barber, Gary shared his tale of Miller saving not only his father’s life, but his girlfriend’s sister’s life.
One lady spoke of having a fever for two weeks and how Miller kept her out of the hospital.
Stewart shared that from the information they have seen, none of Miller’s patients had complained about the care they received. They all have nothing but praise for him and his staff. Apparently it was other doctors who filed the complaints, because they were mad that Miller was trying to help “their” patients.
“It’s just bullying, plain and simple,” she said.
A mother named Wendy spoke about the impact Miller had on her children, but especially her 15-year-old daughter.
“She’s ADHD, and she has dyslexia and really severe anxiety to the point where I had to take her out of public school because she couldn’t even function there.” Whether it was doing chores or everyday things like brushing her teeth and taking showers was almost impossible. “It would literally take her days just to actually get up and get in the mindset of doing a task. Today, she’s doing all of those things on time.”
“He has listened to us,” she said..”He’s listened to her. He’s referred us to multiple places.” She also spoke of Miller finding solutions to issues her other children were dealing with.
“We love Dr. Scott,” Wendy said. “He is our doctor, he is my doctor, he is my children’s doctor, he always will be. And we respect him. We want his license reinstated.”
A woman named Satin described a situation at Legacy Salmon Creek. She said her mother had an infection and when they went there, her mother was a “medical hostage.” She had called the sheriff and got no real response. But later the hospital called the sheriff and officers showed up when a group of friends showed up to protest on behalf of Satin and her mom.
It was a horrible standoff for a while. She said it was intervention by Miller that made the difference.
“I just thank you doctor Scott, for your love and your friendship,” she said. “I thank you for just standing up and doing the right thing. I thank you so much. I thank you so much for being there for all of us.”
Another patient shared her story. She has heart disease, lung disease and kidney disease. She’s on dialysis and several other health issues. “I went into the emergency room where they left me alone for eight hours, and then gave her 250 milligrams of fluid before sending her home at 1 a.m.
“Even though I was severely dehydrated, I hadn’t eaten in three weeks, I have been barely able to keep one 16-ounce water bottle down a day,” she shared.
A friend heard about her situation and put her in touch with Miller. She praises him for the care and compassion she received. “Within 24 hours of Scott’s treatment, I was able to hold food down, I was able to eat again,” she said. “I was able to get up, I was able to walk, my headache went away, my equilibrium started coming back.”
“I really thank God for Dr. Miller; thank God that he is such a caring person,” she said “He cares for all of us and is just willing to take us on as patients.”
Heidi St. John, a candidate in the 3rd Congressional District race, shared her story of Miller caring for her family. He was caring for her grandchildren. “When my family came down with COVID, he helped us,” she said “When my son needed prescription medicines we got ivermectin and other treatments.” Her son is doing great right now.
St. John broadened the conversation. “They’re using this virus to take control and to take your freedom and that’s what this is about. This is about freedom,” which triggered a huge round of applause from the audience.
Another mom spoke about the “amazing integrity and kindness and compassion” of Miller. “You can tell that this is what he is meant to do, that this is God’s purpose for him because he’s just such a phenomenal doctor. He’s such a phenomenal person. And we are so blessed to have him as our daughter’s pediatrician. We will continue fighting for him.”
The rally closed with everyone gathering for a group photo, with Miller in front of the large group of supporters.
Stewart shared that there will be a formal hearing by the WMC in November and that patients and supporters can submit letters of support for Miller to the WMC.
As the investigation unfolded, friends created a GoFundMe account to help cover Miller’s legal expenses. Stewart shared that yesterday that page had been shut down. Apparently the bureaucracy and the anti-ivermectin effort has a long reach and people willing to harm good people like Miller, Stewart said.
She shared that an alternate donation site has been established at GiveSendGo for supporters. Supporters have also created a Reinstate Scott Miller page on social media. The main effort has a Reinstate Scott Miller webpage where updates will be posted regularly.
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