The Oregonian - Maxine Dexter says she will champion health care, air quality in Congress
Published: September 14, 2024 | By: Sami Edge
Dr. Maxine Dexter plans to carry the stories of her patients with her to Congress.
There was the patient last Tuesday who couldn’t afford his inhaler anymore, so Dexter, a longtime pulmonologist at Kaiser Permanente, had to switch him to an inferior medication.
There was the 80-year-old man who thought he was going to die in a hot third-floor walkup during Portland’s deadly 2021 heat dome. He could see the bus that would take him to a cooling shelter, but his chronic lung disease meant he couldn’t make it down the stairs. He put a wet towel on himself, turned the fan on and prayed, Dexter said.
“I have those people with me every time I tell a story or advocate,” said Dexter, 51, who is expected to replace retiring U.S. Rep Earl Blumenauer as the U.S. representative for the Portland area’s 3rd Congressional District.
Dexter won a contentious primary for the Democratic nomination in May. November’s general election is almost a formality in a district that no Republican has represented since 1954. Dexter will keep working as a doctor through the election and until her last shift ends on the morning of Dec. 31, just days before new federal lawmakers are sworn in. She spoke with The Oregonian/OregonLive last week after a 10-hour hospital shift — her second day of seven in a row.
