Physician, conservationist, historian

Through John’s “Bedside to Streamside” work in ethics, he has encouraged the adaptation of practical approaches in clinical ethics to improve ethical decision-making in environmental conflicts.

In 1985 John worked with ethicist Johnny Cox to develop the ethics training program for resident physicians at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane. In 1991 he was asked by Spokane VA Medical Center leadership to establish the ethics consultation service. In 1997 along with ethics consultant Rose Mary Volbrecht, John co-founded the Regional Ethics Network of Eastern Washington (RENEW).  To improve ethics at the end of life, RENEW drafted and piloted Washington State’s Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) now used statewide.

Along with The Rev. Tom Soeldner and The Rev. John Rosenberg, John coordinates the Ethics & Treaty Project with support from the Columbia Institute for Water Policy and Sierra Club.  Since 2014 the river ethics project has facilitated yearly One River, Ethics Matter (OREM) conferences. John also helps to coordinate the Spokane River Team and Columbia River Team for Sierra Club. He helped in creating the Columbia River Roundtable and American NGO Treaty Caucus.

As a physician, John’s work is inspired by his mother, Marie Osborn ARNP, Idaho’s first nurse practitioner.  The mother-son team recently published a book about creating a healthcare system in 6,000 square miles of Idaho’s Sawtooth-Salmon River country:  Moving Mountains:  creating the Nurse Practitioner and Rural EMS.

For 41 years, starting in 1985, Dr. Osborn has provided medical care for military veterans, including as a hospitalist and as Chief of Medicine at the Spokane VA Medical Center.  Dr. Osborn directed HIV/AIDS care for 25 years. He currently provides care for veterans at the Seattle VA ER.

Dr. Osborn served as physician advisor for Camp Chaparral, a program jointly hosted by the Yakama Nation and Dept of Veterans Affairs to improve care for Native American veterans with PTSD. He worked with Congress and VA Infectious Disease leaders to reform HIV screening policy for Veterans. Dr. Osborn has led regional efforts to improve suicide prevention, responding to high suicide rates among Veterans and the loss to suicide of his nephew, Cameron Wilder. He also volunteers with the Medical Reserve Corps serving Vashon Island.

Email:  [email protected]