
Lorraine Lunden, PA-C (She/Her)
About Lorraine
Lorraine started at Communicare+OLE in 1978 as a volunteer birth control counselor when it was known as the Davis Free Clinic. She received her physician assistant certification from UC Davis PA-FNP program in 1984 and completed her undergraduate degree in Social Relations (social psychology, social anthropology) from Harvard University in 1971. Prior to coming to Communicare+OLE, she served as a volunteer in the Harvard Africa Volunteer Program in Ethiopia for five years, working in the YWCA in the capital city the first year and at the Cheshire Home for Handicapped Children in a rural area as a co-manager for the remaining four years. She specializes in women’s health, substance abuse treatment, and the unhoused, as well as general primary care.
My approach to care
My approach to care is in addition to treating illness, to enable the patients/clients to recognize the strengths they have within themselves to improve their health and make the most of their potential whatever their situation, and that I am simply a vehicle to help them realize that.
Why I went into healthcare
I became a PA because of my experience in Ethiopia, which developed my empathy with those who had little resources but great strength, and which gave me a level head in the context of famine, multiple diseases, and revolution. It also fostered in me a love of languages and different customs and a respect for diverse worldviews.
Something you might not know about me
I love reading and gardening, hiking and camping, and cats. I do like dogs too, but I don’t have any.