MEET LOCAL LEGEND: Mary Krueger, D.O.

BIOGRAPHY

On her recent tour of duty in Afghanistan, US Army Major Mary Krueger saw much that was very different from life back home, except for the women and children that is. “The major thing to remember is that even though we communicate on different wavelengths and live in different worlds, they are intelligent women who care about their families and want the best for them,” she recalled. “I feel that women are the key to making a difference in the society because they are the ones raising the children. If you are going to make that change, you're going to want to have a positive impact on the women.”

As a board–certified family physician, Krueger has devoted her career to improving the lives of women —and their children— around the block and around the world. For instance, during her first year of residency in Family Medicine at Madigan Army Medical Center, Fort Lewis, Washington, she was voted Outstanding Intern by the faculty and a group of her peers. During her third and final year, she volunteered for a humanitarian assistance mission to Eritrea, where she provided care to nomadic people, working side–by–side with and training local female health care providers in obstetrics, pediatrics and primary care.

After her certification, as a Fellow in Faculty Development in a collaborative program between the University of Washington School of Public Health and Madigan Army Medical Center, she focused her master's thesis on identifying barriers to breastfeeding encountered by women on active military duty. Through her work, she was named to the Steering Committee of the Western Washington Breastfeeding Coalition, which succeed in passing legislation to protect a woman's right to breastfeed her child without fear of recrimination.

Nominating Krueger to be a Local Legend, Representative Adam Smith [D–WA–9] pointed out that she “believes in treating the whole family and is strongly dedicated to improving the health conditions of women and children worldwide.” Krueger more than demonstrated this during her tour of duty in Afghanistan, where she was originally stationed as a primary care physician for the 48–th Combat Support Hospital, providing emergency care for solders as well as tending to local Afghan residents' health needs.

After two months of service, she was chosen to be the Deputy surgeon of the Coalition Joint Civil Military Operations Task Force, responsible for forming and maintaining strong relationships between the Task Force Surgeon's office and the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan.

Currently as Assistant Residency Director, Family Practice Residency, Dewitt Army Community Hospital, Fort Belvoir, Virginia, she is responsible for teaching 15 full time residents, as well as supervising inpatient services and instructing in various medical procedures. She also teaches and supervises obstetrical care by both medical residents and students.

Among the accolades she has received are a Certificate of Achievement, 14–th Engineer Battalion Family Support Group and a Certificate of Recognition, Department of Family Practice, Heidelberg, Germany, and a Certificate of Recognition, Quality Assurance Pin, Department of Family Practice, Madigan Army Medical Center.