DERMATOLOGY & LASER ASSOCIATES OF MEDFORD

October 2024

Derm Laser

Skin is the largest organ in the body, containing billions of cells, from hair cells and pain receptors to sensory cells and specialized immune cells as a first line of defense against pathogens. It’s no wonder that things can go south quickly, which is why a yearly checkup with your dermatologist is important.

At Dermatology & Laser Associates of Medford (2959 Siskiyou Boulevard), they’re celebrating 79 years serving the Rogue Valley. The practice was originally started in 1955 by Dr. Lee Harlow, who was the first dermatologist to settle in the Rogue Valley, before Dr. Douglas Naversen took over the practice in 1982. Since then, the practice has expanded to become one of largest dermatology practices between Sacramento and Portland. They currently have nine providers in the practice, including eight physicians and a very experienced physician assistant, along with two advanced aestheticians who work under the supervision of the physicians. 

“We provide comprehensive and full-spectrum dermatology services including medical, surgical, pediatric, and cosmetic dermatology,” said Dr. Leon Hsu, co-Medical Director and Partner. “We treat a wide range of medical and cosmetic dermatologic conditions, including skin cancers, precancers, cysts, lipomas, atypical moles, acne, rosacea, psoriasis, eczema, autoimmune cutaneous diseases, rashes, hair loss, nail conditions, scars, birthmarks, and much more. We provide services for children and adults, and we accept almost all insurance plans including commercial plans, Medicare and Medicaid. We also accept patients who are uninsured.”

The dermatology practice consists almost exclusively of board-certified dermatologists. Dermatologists are physicians who have gone through extensive training including four years of college, four years of medical school (to obtain a MD or DO degree), one year of internship, followed by three to four years of dermatology-specific residency and fellowship training. After that, dermatologists must pass a rigorous board exam in order to be board-certified followed by annual continuing medical education to maintain their board-certification status. 

In addition to Dr. Hsu and Dr. Naversen, the dermatologists include  Dr. Laurel Naversen Geraghty MD, Sigrid Barklund MD, Thomas Evans DO, Kate Kimes DO, Arielle Gray MD, and Natasha Zacher MD. Elena Forster PA-C, is also on staff.

“We are Southern Oregon’s largest dermatology practice and are continuing to grow,” Dr. Hsu said. “We recently added Dr. Natasha Zacher, a Stanford-trained dermatologist to the practice, and we will be adding an additional dermatologist from Stanford next summer. We also have the only two fellowship-trained Mohs surgeons in all of Southern Oregon. While our surgeons perform a highly precise skin cancer surgery called Mohs surgery for non-melanoma skin cancers, we are also the only practice in Southern Oregon that performs Mohs surgery for early stage melanoma skin cancers.” 

Dr. Hsu received his medical training at UC-Davis and later at Stanford where he met one of his co-residents at the time, Dr. Laurel Naversen Geraghty. 

“She grew up in Medford and was planning to move back home to practice dermatology with her father, Dr. Douglas Naversen, and she encouraged me to check out the practice,” Dr. Hsu said. “My wife and I came up for a visit in November of 2015, and we felt excited about the opportunity to join a great medical practice and to try living in a different part of the West Coast with a more relaxed pace of life. As a physician in training, I never thought I would be a small business owner and be involved in running a medical practice. But a couple years after joining the practice, I became one of the physician owners, and I’m now leading the practice as one of its medical directors.” 

Dr. Hsu is proud of the fact that they have recruited top-notch board-certified dermatologists out of some of the best training programs in the country to join their practice. 

“We’ve been successful in recruiting ‘early career’ physicians who will hopefully spend most of their careers here,” he said. “We’re hoping this will greatly benefit our community as our region has traditionally been an underserved area for dermatologic care.  I’m also proud that we’ve recruited a very talented team of medical assistants, histotechs, patient service representatives, billers, managers, and other ancillary staff. We would not be successful without them, so I am incredibly grateful to them for their hard work and dedication to our practice. I’m also proud of the positive, supportive, and collegial culture that we’ve created here for our staff. Our practice is growing and many of our providers are accepting new patients at this time. We would love to see you at our clinic!”

The phone number at the clinic is 541-773-3636. You can also see them at dermlasermedford.com.