Dr. Oyetunji is a cardiothoracic surgeon specializing in treating all adult general cardiac surgical diseases.  In addition to seeing patients at the UW Montlake campus, she is the section chief of cardiac surgery at the Veterans Administration Puget Sound Health Care System, providing quality care for our Veterans.

Dr. Oyetunji's clinical interests include surgical and transcatheter approaches to managing valvular heart diseases, including aortic stenosis, mitral valve disease, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Dr. Oyetunji is interested in quality initiatives and providing quality care for our patients. And she believes that the multidisciplinary heart team approach in diagnosing and managing cardiac pathology is integral to providing the best care for patients.

Dr. Oyetunji also has an interest in global surgery with the goal of participating in academic twinning partnerships to develop sustainable surgical programs in low and middle-income countries.

The WA Legislative session ended with the Sine Die gavel dropping at 10:04 pm on Sunday, April 23. Hours earlier, legislators approved a $69.3 billion two-year budget for public schools, prisons, and other state services. KCMS worked tirelessly to advance legislation to improve the practice of medicine. We brought physicians' voices on essential bills to Olympia. 

Focused efforts included gun violence prevention, reproductive care, end-of-life care, housing and homelessness, and workforce issues. Legislators voted to invest more than $1 billion to strengthen our behavioral health system and provide more services for our most vulnerable community members. Legislators also took key steps to address our workforce needs, especially in the healthcare industry, and permanently capped the cost of insulin at $35 per month.

Policy Highlights
I. Firearms: Lawmakers approved a ban on the sale of assault weapons with the passage of HB 1240.  

Another bill signed into law by Inslee allows citizens to sue firearm manufacturers or retailers for irresponsible conduct, something four other states have enacted. 

II. Reproductive Rights: HB 1469, the “Shield Law,” was passed this year, which will prohibit the issuance of out-of-state subpoenas seeking information on reproductive health care services, prohibit out-of-state criminal investigations & arrests seeking communication and other evidence related to reproductive health care service, and prohibit the Governor from extraditing any person for out-of-state reproductive health care services charges.
It would also provide a cause of action to recoup damages and other legal costs for out-of-state lawsuits related to reproductive health care services and protect health care service professionals from harassment for providing protected health care services.

The “Shield Law” is part of a priority package of bills that would regulate health data (HB 1155),  eliminate co-pays and deductible requirements for abortion (SB 5242), and block out-of-state disciplinary action against professionals providing reproductive care (HB 1340).

III. End of Life Care: Gov. Inslee has also signed an expansion of the Death with Dignity Act into law. SB 5179 cuts down on the wait time between when patients first ask for life-ending medication and when they can receive it and allows more types of healthcare professionals to sign off on requests for a medically assisted death. 

IV. Housing: In March, the WA State Department of Commerce released housing needs projections, which show the state will need to add 1.1 million homes over the next 20 years, and more than half of them must be affordable for residents at the lowest income levels. The “Middle housing” bill aims to describe housing that is neither a single family nor an apartment building - rather duplexes, triplexes, 4, 5, and 6-plexes, and backyard ADUs. The bill overrides local zoning laws limiting most cities to single-family homes.

The Youth Global Health & Innovation conference aims to gather international high school and undergraduate students to initiate conversations about topics that significantly impact global health. Participants can engage with global health professionals through keynote speakers and activities.

Radio 21 has created a Pre-Med Bootcamp for those high school students interested in becoming doctors. In this program, they'll learn directly from medical students, residents, and practicing doctors about what it takes to become a doctor and how to best prep for college. For more information and registration, click the button below.