Petra Goodell, CHE

Bio

I am a Clinical Health Educator (CHE) here at Kaiser Permanente. What do I do as a CHE? I work with members who want to learn how to better manage their diabetes, asthma, high cholesterol or blood pressure; and members who want to lose weight or quit smoking. We meet together and talk about ways to improve your health through behavior changes that often involve lifestyle changes.

I know what you're thinking. "Does this mean I will have to start exercising and eating healthy?" Well, quite often this will be the topic of our conversations. But the important thing is that we will talk about what YOU want to talk about. We will start from where YOU are and what YOU are ready to work on. So if this sounds good to you, call me and we can set up an appointment.

My Background
I was born and raised in a small village in what used to be Czechoslovakia, now the Czech Republic. Twenty four years later I received a medical degree from the Masaryk University in Brno, CZ, and became a physician.

Life works in mysterious ways. I met my future husband and we decided to live in his home country, the U.S.A. Talk about changes; this was a big one for me.

I moved to California and decided not to pursue my career as a physician. I always found myself wanting to talk to my patients about helping themselves through leading a healthier lifestyle, rather than prescribing medications. Working as a Health Educator introduced a way for me to do just that. I went back to school and received my Masters in Public Health from UC Berkeley and began working for Kaiser Permanente.
So here I am. I look forward to meeting with you.

My Medical Specialty

Interests

My favorite book or author:
M.C. Beaton, Agatha Christie, P.D. James

Great movie:
"Planet Earth" series

Hobby Photos & Links:

One of my flower pots

Family & Friends

People in my life:

My husband Stan is the reason why I'm in the United States (so thank or blame him :-)). When we met, I had just finished my 4th year of medical school and still had 2 more years to do. He quit his job in the U.S. and moved to the Czech Republic to be closer to me while I was getting my degree.

My children and people I care about:

All my family still lives in the Czech Republic and it is very hard to be so far away from them. I talk to them every week and try to visit at least once or twice a year.

Photos of my Family & Friends:

My husband Stan and I in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

More members of my family

Part of my Czech family. The flowers are usually not a part of the attire.

I currently don't have any pets. Somehow I have not found the courage to have a pet again. Throughout my child and teenage years, our family had several dogs. The last one, the one I will always remember, was a Newfoundland named Cid. He was with us for 13 years (quite an achievement for a large breed) and he and I did a lot of things together. Newfoundlands are born water rescue dogs and the first time I took Cid to the lake swimming, he immediately went after me and attempted to "rescue me". I ended up with several scratches on my back from his paws as he vehemently tried to pull me out of the water.

Pet Photos:

This is him, our "little" Cid

Travel

An adventure I've had:

For many years it has been my dream to visit Yellowstone. Finally, this summer, it happened. My favorite park highlights were all the bubbling, steaming, spitting, stinking thermal features. We also spent a couple days in the Grand Tetons. We decided to rent a kayak and take it on Jenny Lake. At one point, I had just stepped out on the shore, when suddenly I heard a sound, looked in that direction and - about 10 feet from me - a bear cub. Remembering all I was taught to do when I find myself alone with a cub (meaning mother is close by - get away!!), I jumped in the boat and we paddled about 20 feet off the shore. The bear kept walking along the shore and we followed him. We actually ended up following him around the lake for about half hour. He, on the shore, checking us out every few minutes; we, safely a few feet away in the water. The mother never showed up. Later, we learned that it wasn't really a cub, just a really small adult bear.

Favorite place in the world:

I was born in a country that has an abundance of castles. When I was a child, my parents took me and my brother on regular Sunday trips to visit the castles of Bohemia and Moravia. We saw many of them. To this date, my favorite is Pernstejn, a medieval castle built around 1285. I love walking the castle's courtyards, corridors and staircases and imagining all the people who lived in the castle throughout the centuries and walked and stood in the exact same places that I am standing today.

One of my recent trips:

Last year my husband and I took my mother on a trip to Scotland. She had wanted to go there for years and I was finally able to help her fulfill that dream. I absolutely loved Scotland. The wonderful scenery, the history, the food, the music, the people, the language and even the weather. For me, the highlight of the trip was the "Military Tattoo" festival in Edinburgh. It is an absolutely spectacular show, featuring military bands from Scotland and from all over the world. If you ever visit Scotland in the summer, buy a ticket to this festival. You won't regret it.

Travel Photos:

The bear we met in Grand Tetons. Bottom left corner shows part of our kayak. As you can see, we were close.

A Photo of One of My Favorite Places:

A beautiful winter day in Breznik. Can you tell why it is one of my favorite spots in the world?

Medieval castle Pernstejn

Breznik - my Czech home from bird's view

Trip Photos:

Massed Pipes & Drums at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo