Ben Johnson:
CLASS OF 1982
Fontana High SchoolClass of 1982
Fontana, CA
Crafton Hills CollegeClass of 1986
Yucaipa, CA
Mount San Jacinto CollegeClass of 1983
San jacinto, CA
Fontana High SchoolClass of 1981
Fontana, CA
Alder Junior High SchoolClass of 1979
Fontana, CA
Ben's Story
Hello, and I hope everyone is doing well. I am surprised people do not write much on these, at least from the ones I have seen. OK, so I did not excel in high school. However, once I started as a volunteer firefighter and the department sent me to the junior college for Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), I figured out I could do very well if I put some effort into it.
I currently live in Grants Pass, Oregon, but I also have a property in Rayville, Louisiana, where most of my relatives live. So we usually get down south a couple of times a year. My beautiful wife is Lisa, and we have two children.
After Fohi, I attended community colleges to catch up on what I missed in high school and to complete several prerequisites. First, I went to Crafton Hills College and earned my Registered Respiratory Therapist and Cardiopulmonary Function Tech certifications while driving an ambulance on the weekends. Next, I attended the University of Laverne for a BS in healthcare administration. In the late 90s, I moved to Oregon, completed some more prerequisites at Portland Community College, and then applied to Physician Assistant schools. Cuyahoga College (Parma, Ohio) was the first PA school to accept me. I had the great idea that I would live in an 18-foot travel trailer to save money. I worked the weekends as a respiratory therapist, taught CPR classes on the side, and attended PA school all week. Great plan, but as you know, Southern California does not prepare one for -20 degree weather, especially in a trailer. I survived. I graduated Cum-Laude and left for Oregon the day I graduated.
As a PA, I have worked emergency room, urgent care, and family practice. Currently, I have a business in the Medford area specializing in industrial medicine, including employment physicals, lung testing, hearing testing, and drug screening. My website is roguemedical.us. I also work Urgent Care in Springfield, Oregon a few days every couple of weeks.
After returning to Oregon, I became very involved with the Oregon Society of Physician Assistants (OSPA). I have served on the OSPA legislative and Education committees for the past 18 years and have also been on the board in one capacity or another dur...Expand for more
ing that time. I have met with and represented PAs to legislators at the Capitol in Salem and Washington, DC. I have also served as one of four PAs elected as a delegate to represent the Oregon House of Delegates for the American Academy of PAs, which I have done for most of the past 20 years. If you do not know what a Physician Assistant (PA) is, here is a short explanation. In almost any medical setting, you have four providers who, for the most part, do the same thing: practicing medicine, including diagnosing, treating, and performing many procedures, such as suturing, joint injections, etc. The four providers are MDs, PAs, DOs, and Nurse Practitioners (NPs). For many years PAs and NPs worked under the supervision of MDs or DOs. In some states, NPs have passed legislation to remove supervision requirements and have been trying to pass these laws for over 30 years. PAs never tried to remove supervision because it was against the policies of our national organization the AAPA. In 2017 I was part of the AAPA house of delegates that changed that policy at a meeting in Las Vegas. In 2018 I was again elected as president of the OSPA, and in 2020 I oversaw the passage of HB 3036, which removes Oregon PA supervision. The state of Washington is now modeling their bill for 2023 on the language in our bill and I am trying to help them in that effort. Currently, I am the Immediate Past President of OSPA. In the house of delegates, we also officially changed the name Physician Assistant to Physician Associate, and I have legislation ready to make that official in Oregon for the 2023 legislative session.
Enough about work. I also enjoy camping, boating, fishing, and Scuba diving. Oregon is great for all of those except scuba diving. Fortunately, my southern family occasionally meet us in New Orleans, where we catch a cruise to diving spots such as Key West, Cozumel, and Belize. I have not been able to get my wife underwater yet except one time on a submarine cruise, but she still has fun.
Oh, and I do still have the same 1965 Ford Fairlane 500 I drove in high school, but NOT the same size engine, see pictures. OK, that is all for now. Y'all stay safe and have some fun wherever you are.
Register for Free to view all details!
Yearbooks
Register for Free to view all yearbooks!
Reunions
Register for Free to view all events!
Photos
Register for Free to view all photos!