Amanda Mehlhoff, FNP
Family Nurse Practitioner
Nurse Practitioner, Amanda Mehlhoff, joined West Salem Family Practice in 2017. Amanda grew up in McMinnville, Oregon and completed her Bachelor of Science in Business, followed by a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, through Linfield College. In 2014, Amanda completed her Master of Science in Nursing, Family Nurse Practitioner with Gonzaga University.
Amanda enjoys partnering with patients to improve their overall health and wellness. Her approach is multi-disciplinary, with a focus on the patient as the centerpiece. She is an active listener who aims to treat the whole patient and works hard to understand all contributing factors to any problem she is presented.
In her free time, Amanda enjoys the outdoors with her husband and two young daughters, taking walks and riding bikes. Amanda is also actively involved in the Willamina Logging Show, McMinnville Free Clinic, the Perrydale Parent’s Club, and A Family Place West Valley Advisory Board.
Heidi Thomas, MD
Doctor of Medicine
Hello. My name is Heidi Thomas, M.D. I live here in Salem with my husband who is also a physician. I enjoy gardening, reading and bible study fellowship. I have been a physician here at West Salem Family Practice since 2001. I became a physician in 1980 after finishing medical school at Oregon Health Sciences University. I did an internship in internal medicine at University of Missouri and became board certified in internal medicine in 1983. I then practiced at Salud Medical Center in Woodburn and Physician’s Group Building until taking an extended sabbatical to raise my five children in 1989.
John Guy, DO
Doctor of Osteopathy
John Guy, DO grew up in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. He graduated with a B.A. in Molecular Biology from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and later earned his medical degree from Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine (Lynchburg, Virginia). After medical school, Dr Guy completed his residency training at Valley Baptist Family Practice Residency Program in Harlingen, Texas. He also has a master of public health from the University of Colorado where he focused on epidemiology and health care policy. He is board certified in Family Medicine.
Dr Guy returned to Salem where his wife grew up, to work at West Salem Family Practice. In his free time, Dr Guy enjoys spending time with his wife and sons, cycling, running, hiking, and being involved in his church.
Paul Weaver, DO
Doctor of Osteopathy
Dr. Weaver’s practice consists of Osteopathic manipulation treatment and osteopathy in the cranial field. Originally from Newberg, Dr. Weaver returned to the Willamette Valley with his wife and daughters in 1999 after serving 11 years as an Army Medical Officer in family practice.
Scott Bean, MD
Doctor of Medicine
Born and raised in West Salem, Scott Bean, M.D. jumped at the chance to move back and practice medicine in beautiful Oregon. He joined West Salem Family Practice in 2013.
Dr. Bean received a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and then attended the Ohio State University College of Medicine. He completed his residency training at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, OH. He is board certified in Family Practice.
In his practice, Dr. Bean emphasizes the power of preventative medicine and helps his patients achieve their nutrition and fitness goals. He finds great satisfaction in helping individuals not just control, but eliminate many of their chronic health problems.
In his free time, Dr. Bean sings with the Willamette Master Chorus and is active in his church. He enjoys cooking, traveling, running, and being in the outdoors. Most of all, he enjoys spending his time with his wife, Anne, and their children.
Dr. Bean is an active member of the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Oregon Academy of Family Physicians.
Nicole Scherlie, DO, MPH
Doctor of Osteopathy, Master of Public Health
Nicole Scherlie DO, MPH is a native Oregonian, growing up outside of Salem, Oregon. She graduated from Seattle Pacific University with a Bachelor of Science in Physiology. Following college, she attended Western University, College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest (COMP-NW) in Lebanon, Oregon. While at COMP-NW, she served as an Osteopathic Manipulative of Medicine Pre-Doctoral Teaching Fellow, where she saw the power Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine. She continues to offer Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine treatment to her patients to this day.
She completed residency at Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, California in both Family Medicine and Preventive Medicine. While at Loma Linda University, she also completed a Master of Public Health in Population Health. She is board certified in Family Medicine. She is also BE/BC in Preventive Medicine and BE/BC in Lifestyle Medicine.
Following residency, she had the wonderful opportunity to return to Salem, Oregon to provide primary care to her community, and thus joined WSFP in 2023. Each day she is grateful to be a Family Physician in her community, walking alongside her patients and their families throughout all stages of life. She seeks to provide whole person care that addresses physical health, mental wellness, spiritual health, and community needs. Her clinical interests include Lifestyle Medicine, which seeks to combat chronic medical conditions with lifestyle changes, mental health and wellness, women’s health, pediatric care, weight management, Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine, public health, and community education. Outside of medicine, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, hiking, cycling, kayaking, horseback riding, and visiting farmers’ markets. She also loves cooking, traveling, and learning about different cultures.
The Family Physician
The family physician is a physician who is educated and trained in family practice — a broadly encompassing medical specialty.
Family physicians possess unique attitudes, skills, and knowledge which qualify them to provide continuing and comprehensive medical care, health maintenance and preventive services to each member of the family regardless of sex, age or type of problem, be it biological, behavioral, or social. These specialists, because of their background and interactions with the family, are best qualified to serve as each patient's advocate in all health-related matters, including the appropriate use of consultants, health services, and community resources.
All of our doctors belong to the American Academy of Family Physicians.
What is a DO?
Doctor of Osteopathy (DO) is one of only two medical degrees (the other is MD) that qualify physicians to acquire unrestricted licenses to practice medicine and surgery in all fifty states of the union. Like their MD counterparts, osteopathic physicians must complete four years of medical school and then pursue post graduate training in one of twenty-two areas of specialty such as family practice, internal medicine, obstetrics, emergency medicine, surgery or psychiatry. DO's comprise ten percent of physicians in the military and five percent of physicians nationwide. There are eighteen medical schools that confer the DO degree and over eighty that offer the M.D. degree.
DO's are unique in that their training includes the study and application of osteopathic principles and practice, a medical philosophy which stresses that the human body is a unified organism, a dynamic unit of structure and function with it's own innate self-healing properties. DO's are trained in Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment which is the hands-on application of the Osteopathic Philosophy. For further information regarding Osteopathic Medicine please go to American Osteopathic Association.
What is a Physician Assistant?
PAs are:
- Certified by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants
- Licensed, certified or registered in the state in which they practice
PAs deliver a broad range of medical and surgical services, including:
- Conduct physical exams
- Obtain medical histories
- Diagnose and treat illnesses
- Order and interpret tests
- Counsel on preventive health care
- Assist in surgery
- Prescribe medications
Family Nurse Practitioner
A family nurse practitioner is an individual working in a primary care setting to provide a team approach to patient care. He/she has been trained to assess the health status of a patient, deliver preventive care, counsel patients on psychosocial and health problems, diagnose and treat common minor illnesses, and manage stable chronic illnesses. NP’s can prescribe in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
FNP’s provide high-quality primary, acute and specialty healthcare services similar to those of a physician. Nurse Practitioners are registered nurses with advanced education and advanced clinical training. They bring a unique perspective to health services in that they place emphasis on both care and cure. Along with clinical services, NP’s focus on health promotion, disease prevention, and health education and counseling, guiding patients to make smarter health and lifestyle choices.
