Royal City physician assistant settles in

ROYAL CITY — Bret Moore said he is glad to provide what Royal City residents have wanted for years: A physician with staying power.

Moore, 44, joined the Royal City Clinic June 18 as the only physician assistant practicing in town. Since joining the clinic, he has been trying to get one message to residents:

"I'm here for the long-haul and you don't have to travel anymore," he said.

Moore moved to Moses Lake from the Yakima area with his wife Angel and children Emma, 6, Adam, 8 and Christopher, 10. They plan to buy a home in Royal City.

Moses Lake Clinic Administrator David Olson said the clinic wanted to hire someone who planned to stay in the community a long time.

"It took us longer to find a person for Royal City than we had hoped, but I would rather take a little longer to find the right person than take the first person who comes along," Olson said.

Bret Moore grew up in Florida, where he worked in a maximum security juvenile facility.

"Everybody in my family was in law enforcement," he said.

Most of Moore's life has been spent in Alaska. He volunteered as an emergency medical technician for the local fire department before moving to Washington to study medicine at the University of Washington.

For six years he worked at the Dietrich and Smith Clinic in Sedro Woolley, Wash. He spent the past year in Yakima working in an emergency room.

"That was like the boot camp of medicine," he said.

Moore said he is enjoying his first few weeks in Royal City, where he has an opportunity to visit with people.

"I have a very good feeling about it," he said. "I look forward to going into work every day."

The farming community and workers make him feel honored to work in Royal City.

Angel Moore said she and Bret both enjoy a small-town atmosphere.

"Royal City will benefit from having Bret there," Angel Moore said.

In addition to working as a stay-at-home mom, Angel Moore gets horses ready for training.

Adam and Christopher ride horses for therapy, she said. Adam is autistic, and Christopher has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from witnessing the 1999 Olympic Pipe Line Co. explosion in Bellingham from ground zero, she said.

She said she feels welcomed by Royal City, noting someone who didn't even know her family is letting her keep her horses on their property.

"The town really welcomed us, just opened right up," she said.

When the children are grown, Angel Moore hopes to return to her previous field of in-home health care.