I was born in Dragerton, Utah, a small coal mining town in the southeastern part of the state, but I was raised in Southern California and Salt Lake City, Utah. I entered the University of Utah at 16 years of age. At such a young age I could not decide on my lifetime career, so I spent several years studying various majors and I gained experience by working full time, both while in and out of school. During this period, I also served a two year mission for the LDS church in Southern Florida and Puerto Rico, where I learned to speak Spanish fluently. Later I married my wife, Maria, and today we have four great kids, Amber, Julia, Freddie, and Steven. I returned to college in 1980 and graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology in 1984. I entered the University of Utah School of Medicine that Autumn.
Since early medical school, I was particularly interested in primary care medicine, and I studied in the Family Practice Honors Program. I was also very active in numerous organizations and committees. I was instructor in Embryology/Child Development at the Utah Teen Mother's Home. At various times I served on the College Council, and was Vice President then President of the UMA/AMA Medical Student Section. I served on the Salt Lake County Medical Association Board of Trustees for one year, then spent another year on the Utah Medical Association Board of Trustees.
After finishing medical school in 1988, I did my internship year of Family Practice Residency at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida. I finished my last two years of residency training at the University of Wyoming Family Practice Residency Program at Cheyenne.
I have been in private practice since July, 1991 at Hunter Medical Center in West Valley City. I recently opened a second location, Jordan Meadows Medical Center, in West Jordan. I enjoy helping and teaching my patients very much.
Fred M. Civish, M.D.
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My name is Jackie Fonua. I am a physician assistant with Dr. Civish and I have been working with him since early 1996. I was born and raised in Salt Lake City. I attended West High school where I met my husband, Stoney. We have four very good children, two beautiful grandchildren, and a lovely daughter in law.
After getting married, I attended Weber State. This is where I received my degree in nursing. I have worked 15 years in the nursing field, 14 of those years in emergency rooms at various hospitals in Salt Lake. I returned to school in 1995 to become a Physician Assistant. My training was done at the University of Utah with an emphasis in Family Practice.
Although I miss the emergency department a great deal, I feel that there is a more important need for primary care providers. This has been a very rewarding experience for me. It has allowed me to see all aspects of health care, including preventative services which I feel is one of the most important aspects of health care today.
Working at Jordan at Jordan Meadows Medical Center has also
been a nice experience. Since I live in the area, it gives me a
chance to help the many people that live in our community. I hope
that I will be able to continue with this for many years to come.
Jackie Fonua, PA-C
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My name is John Ball and I am a nationally certified physician assistant (PA-C) with a specialty in family practice. I have practiced medicine since 1994, and joined the team of clinicians at Jordan Meadows/Hunter Medical Center in 1998.
I was born in the small Texas of Uvalde, but was raised and attended high school in Austin. I studied paramedic technology at Austin Community College and worked part time as an emergency medical technician while earning degrees in biology and history at the University of Texas. There I met and married Caroline Ramirez, an early childhood teacher with an interest in special needs children.
I attended the University of Osteopathic Medicine and Health Sciences from 1992-1994. I chose this program, based in Des Moines, IA, because it included a year of practical training in specialty clinics from Cedar Park, Texas to Caribou, Maine, and had a reputation for placing clinicians in under served areas.
Thus, my first professional employment was in the Rural Health Center of a remote fishing village in "downeast" Maine, arranged through a contract with the National Health Service Corp. There I was able to live my dream of serving the needs in an isolated community, while of living on a coastal island, hiking, biking and exploring the coast line by sea kayak on my days off.
When the contract term was up, we drove all over the West looking for a place with the rare combination of professional opportunities, a family friendly environment, and the recreational resources to indulge our interests in skiing, tandem biking, rock climbing, and martial arts. We bought a duplex in Provo, where we live with our infant son, 2 cats, and 1 rabbit.
I've found practicing family medicine at Jordan Meadows and Hunter to be both rewarding personally and challenging professionally. It's variety requires constant reeducation to stay current, while the "era of managed care" demands that we do more in less time. It requires that we balance the limits of the generalist with the value of knowing the patient as a whole individual in an ongoing professional relationship.
The challenge makes it interesting and the people make it fun.
John H. Ball, PA-C
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My name is Steve Larsen and I am a Family Nurse Practitioner at Jordan Meadows Medical and Hunter Medical Centers. I grew up in Southern California in the Los Angeles area. My mother was a nurse and her experience in the medical field prompted me to pursue a similar career.
I served a two year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Columbia, South America. Learning the Spanish language has been very rewarding for me both personally and professionally.
I received my bachelor's degree in Nursing from Brigham Young University and am still a huge BYU football supporter (casual conversations about the team, while enjoyable will cut the amount of time available to actually discuss your health and reasons you are in the clinic today, as well as get me in trouble with our office manager, so we should probably keep things on a professional level). That said, one of the reasons I love my job is that I get to know lots of people personally and to help them with their problems.
After BYU I worked for two years on the Medical-Oncology floor at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center. Graduate school took me to North Carolina, where I got my Master's degree in the Primary Care/Family Nurse Practitioner program from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While at UNC, I worked full-time in the Hematology/Oncology unit. My background in oncology, along with my mother's death at an early age from breast cancer, has possibly made me hypersensitive to cancer screening and prevention. As primary care provider, I feel I stand on very few soap boxes, but this is definitely one of them.
My first job out of graduate school was at a community health center. Ninety percent of the patient population I served were migrant farm workers. I enjoyed the time I spent working within this community and still enjoy very close relationships with the Hispanic communities in West Jordan and West Valley.
In September 1999, I accepted a position at Jordan Meadows/Hunter Medical Centers and my wife and I moved our family across the country for the second time in 3 years. We (my wife and our three children) are thrilled to be back in Utah and among family and friends. It has been exciting to see the growth of both our community and Jordan Meadows Medical Center.
I look forward to being an integral part of the team of the providers at these two clinics for many years to come.
Steven W. Larsen, FNP
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My name is Michelle Dahle, but I prefer to be called Chelle. I am a Family Nurse Practitioner at Jordan Meadows and Hunter Medical Centers.
I was born and raised in West Valley City, Utah. I attended high school at Granger High. After high school, I attended Weber State University for my Registered Nursing degree.
I worked as a Registered Nurse for twelve years at LDS Hospital before coming to work here at Jordan Meadows. During my many years of hospital experience I have been a clinical nurse and charge nurse. Working on the Medical Unit has led me to see that there is a great need for preventative health care.
I graduated from Westminister College of Nursing with my Master's of Science as a Family Nurse Practitioner. Working as a Nurse Practitioner has fulfilled a lifetime aspiration of mine to be able to care for people. I genuinely enjoy working with all age groups of patients and performing preventative health care.
I married my high school sweetheart, Jesse. We have two beautiful children, a daughter and son. We live in West Jordan and love it out here.
I look forward to being able to serve the people of our community for many years to come.
Michelle Dahle, FNP
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Hi my name is Kurt Bockoven. I spent twenty years in the US Navy in varied duty stations with US Marines, Destroyer fleet, and Trident Nuclear Submarines. The Navy put me through George Washington University for my undergrad and Vanderbilt University for my Master's in Nursing. I have been a Family nurse Practitioner for the past 14 years.
I love what I do. Seeing patients, putting the puzzle together to figure out their malady, and being able to make a difference in their lives, thrills me.
Recently moved out here from Tennessee to be near my daughter who is giving us our first grand child. Love to flyfish, hike, and backpack and this seems the perfect spot to do all that.
I look forward to meeting you.
Kurt Bockoven, FNP
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