Rachel A. Ballou, DO

Dr. Ballou grew up in the rural town of Rainier, Washington, not far from Lacey Family Medicine. Her hope to become a family medicine physician began while she learned from physicians in Uganda and Haiti prior to medical school. She obtained her Bachelor of Biology at Northwest University, where she began volunteering for an organization that assisted women involved in sex trafficking. This volunteer opportunity lead to her job as a case manager for many teens and women until she chose to attend medical school. She packed up her Chevy Malibu and drove across the country to North Carolina to attend Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine (CUSOM) where she was the Social Chair of her Student Government Association. While at CUSOM, she had the opportunity to travel with one of her professors to Armenia to establish a Global Health rotation in the summer of her MS-2 year. This sparked her interest in global health, and she chose St. Peter Family Medicine for her residency, due to the program’s commitment to the underserved and opportunities in rural/global health. In her second year of residency, she traveled to Malawi to teach medical students and learn from the Malawian family medicine residents. Dr. Ballou's medical interests include women’s health, pediatrics, medication assisted treatment, and of course, global health. When she is not in the hospital or clinic, you can find her doing yoga in her kitchen while she bakes treats to share.