DO Alumna Returns as a Published Author
Dr. Mary Afsari Blends Traditional, Alternative Medical Delivery Models to Serve Patients in US Northwest
An alumna of Touro University California’s College of Osteopathic Medicine is charting her own path by launching a mobile OB-GYN clinic and publishing a memoir based on her life, family, and 20 years of service.
Dr. Mary Fariba Afsari, DO Class of 2006, is a board-certified OB-GYN whose feet are planted professionally both in the world of traditional medicine and the realm of alternative medical delivery systems.
Afsari, who serves as medical director for a hospital in the Portland, Oregon, area, founded FemForward Health in 2022 in Portland to break out from the structure of traditional medicine. The RV that serves as a mobile OB-GYN clinic brings services to those often missed in a traditional brick-and-mortar setting.
She’s also a published author.
Campus Visit Sparks Memories
Afsari during a campus visit April 27 connected with classmate Dr. Tami Hendriksz, Campus Provost and Dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine.
The two laughed, embraced, and shared memories of their time as TUC students before Afsari gave a talk to a group of first-year DO students about the experiences she shares in her memoir, “Labor: One Woman’s Work,” which published in early April.
Afsari also reconnected with Dr. Walter Hartwig, who as a faculty member encouraged her to take advantage of a scholarship opportunity to serve a pediatrics global health rotation in Bolivia.
The trip was memorable for two reasons: It sparked in Afsari a desire to serve as an OB-GYN, and she met her future husband – and father to her two children – while there.
Hartwig served as moderator for Afsari’s campus talk.
A tour of the campus followed, with a focus on the newly renovated Truett Hall with its state-of-the-art classrooms and labs as well as the modern suite for ultrasound training – something Afsari sees as a boon for medical students that will give them a leg up on their peers when they move on to rotations.
“I am so proud of my alma mater, their growth over 20 years ... and the training of current and future leaders who are much needed in this world today,” Afsari said.
Mobile Clinic Serves Wide Array of Patients, Needs
FemForward has a series of set locations across the region where Afsari and her team treat patients. But that was not always the case.
To get from concept to reality, Afsari navigated the labyrinth of reviews and approvals necessary to obtain medical malpractice insurance and to be deemed as an authorized provider with various insurance companies for patient coverage and reimbursements.
And she learned how to drive and maintain an RV in what she described to TUC osteopathic medical students as a “scrappy” operation at the outset that now runs with the efficiency of a traditional clinic and a high level of empathy for patients and their needs.
The mobile outreach started during the Covid-19 pandemic with Afsari providing Covid testing on people’s porches, driving from place to place in her car. It grew from there to providing OB-GYN services in people’s homes. She soon bought the RV and outfitted it to serve as a medical clinic and over time found it was best to establish set days and locations in areas near clusters of her patients.
Afsari describes FemForward today as something akin to concierge medicine without the fees charged for such personalized services.
The clinic serves women through 12 weeks of pregnancy, among the various patient services provided.
FemForward’s patients tell Afsari they learned of the clinic by word-of-mouth, medical referrals, insurance provider lists, AI queries, the clinic’s website, and internet browser searches, as well social media searches on such platforms as Instagram and Reddit.
Afsari said once people learn of the clinic’s innovative approach, like-minded individuals are choosing to come aboard as patients.
Love of Writing Leads to Memoir
Afsari in her memoir takes readers on a personal and transformative journey through her life as an OB-GYN and explores the intersection of medicine, identity, and the enduring search for agency.