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Dawn Knight, MD, and Stacy Whitaker, DO, are the first female OB/GYNs in our area.

In March Grande Ronde Hospital (GRH) welcomed two new physicians for obstetrics and gynecology services to the GRH Women’s Clinic at 610 Sunset Drive in La Grande. Dawn Knight, MD, and Stacy Whitaker, DO, are the first female obstetrician-gynecologists (OB/GYN) to practice in the Union-Wallowa-Baker tri-county region.

Dawn Knight, MD, board-certified

Dr. Knight graduated from Louisiana State University (LSU) School of Medicine, where she completed an internship and residency in the OB/GYN department at LSU Medical Center.

After spending 19 years in a successful solo practice in obstetrics and gynecology, Dr. Knight worked in research and data collection with the director of the OB/GYN department at St. Luke’s Hospital at the University of Missouri–Kansas City. While there, she also taught, supervised and worked as a physician for a perinatology group based in the Kansas City area, which allowed her to specialize in the care of high-risk OB patients.

Dr. Knight’s most current position was as an OB hospitalist for Shawnee Mission Medical Center, a Kansas City metro hospital, where she performed and assisted with c-section deliveries in addition to performing gynecological procedures and routine deliveries. Dr. Knight also has experience with diagnostic bladder care services and a full range of laparoscopic and endoscopic procedures, such as hysterectomies and tubal ligations. She has a passion for teaching women about preventive OB/GYN health care.

Dr. Knight is excited about the opportunity to pursue a more traditional OB/GYN practice in La Grande. Our area also allows her and her husband to be closer to their grown children and other family members living in Oregon and Washington. In addition, Dr. Knight says she has always dreamed of living in a four-season climate.

Stacy Whitaker, DO, board-certified

After graduating from Montana State University–Northern (MSU–N), Dr. Whitaker received her doctorate of osteopathic medicine from Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in Missouri. She then completed a two-year traditional internship and four years of OB/GYN residency at the Ingham Regional Medical Center in Lansing, Mich. During her residency, Dr. Whitaker presented a series of lectures for the OB/GYN department at MSU–N.

After completing her residency, Dr. Whitaker returned to Montana in 2007 and joined a multispecialty group clinic in Great Falls as an obstetrical and gynecologic generalist, also performing OB/GYN laparoscopic surgical procedures.

In March, Dr. Whitaker had the honor of being inducted as a fellow into the American College of Osteopathic Obstetricians and Gynecologists at the organization’s 77th annual conference in New Orleans. She is also a member of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Osteopathic Association.

Dr. Whitaker chose Grande Ronde Hospital because she was impressed with its financial stability and technological innovation, as well as the high value the hospital places on its physicians. Dr. Whitaker is excited to be one of the first two female OB/GYNs in the tri-county region.