Central Oregon Pediatric Associates expands with the help of U.S. Bank

Expanding access to healthcare

With U.S. Bank’s long-term healthcare financing and day-to-day operational solutions, COPA can focus on what it does best: treating pediatric patients and giving back to the community.

When pediatrician Dr. Logan Clausen began exploring different cities to start her post-residency career, Bend, Oregon, was an attractive choice for its access to the outdoors and sense of community. But Central Oregon Pediatric Associates was the biggest draw.

“COPA hooked me hard and fast,” says Clausen, who serves as COPA’s CEO. “I reached out directly and said, ‘This is my place because of the mission.’ What they really stand for […] is the highest quality of care for all kids. We serve them and meet them where they are, include families in those decisions, include culture in those decisions and make sure that the outcome for that kid is their happiest, healthiest self.”

Comprehensive care for Central Oregon kids

That’s been the mission of COPA since it first opened its doors in 1975. What started as a solo pediatric practice with one building has evolved into a full healthcare team practicing at four locations across central Oregon. Catering exclusively to pediatric patients, COPA is the largest pediatric provider in the region, serving more than sixty percent of kids in the area.

Throughout COPA’s 50-year history, the practice has always been locally owned by the pediatricians who work there, allowing them to nimbly make decisions that have a direct, positive impact on the patients they see every day.

“All of the business decisions and choices that are made at COPA are made for the best possible care of the children of central Oregon,” says Valerie Shine, COPA’s director of finance. “Everything we do is done through the lens of ‘How can we provide the best possible care to everyone in the community to make sure everyone has access, that they can see their provider on a consistent basis and really ensure that everyone is taken care of?’”

Past and future clinic expansions

COPA has experienced exponential growth in recent years, driven by what patients and their families need to thrive. In addition to a team of pediatricians, COPA has specialists on staff like behavioral counselors, a lactation consultant, an immunologist and a dietician, offering streamlined care for families.

COPA has also expanded to four locations — with more planned — furthering its reach and expanding access to care. Two of its locations offer after-hours care, which allows families to easily make same-day appointments with their pediatrician and avoid costly ER and urgent care visits.

“[It’s amazing] to see these big-picture things like new clinic locations, bringing in specialists and after-hours [care] all coming together and changing both overall trajectories for our population but also on that one-kid level of truly seeing a difference,” says Clausen.

The power of a relationship-based banking model for medical practices

U.S. Bank is a pivotal partner in COPA’s growth and ability to meet patients’ needs. When COPA first became a U.S. Bank client 12 years ago, the bank helped the practice purchase one of its buildings. This gave COPA the flexibility to set its own office hours, offer weekend appointments and create designated parking spots for new parents.

“You come into COPA, and you know that provider really cares about your kid,” says Joel Thomas, a U.S. Bank healthcare banking relationship manager who is from central Oregon and was a COPA patient himself. “They’re out there making sure that our children are healthy, both mentally and physically, and prepared for the different things life throws at them.”

Thomas and his team at U.S. Bank take a holistic approach with their clients, helping COPA with everything from securing physician loans and practice financing on its buildings to the solutions it needs for daily operations, like deposits, credit cards, merchant processing, revenue cycle management and fraud prevention.

But beyond the banking relationship, COPA appreciates that Thomas has a personal connection to the region and the practice. Born and raised in central Oregon, Thomas is a former COPA patient who now brings his own kids to the practice for pediatric care.

“[Joel] understands what we’re doing here and the importance of the mission and the vision of COPA,” says Shine. “He understands how much the region has grown and the different pressures that has put on organizations across the region. It’s wonderful to have someone you can trust to understand the importance of what we’re doing here, because he’s as invested in the community as we are.”

“It’s definitely a symbiotic relationship,” Thomas adds. “By providing COPA with the plethora of services that we offer, it allows them the time and energy to focus on the things that they really want to focus on. Let me and my team work on the financial aspect of things [...] so that they can focus on being out there in the community.”

Pediatric partnerships highlight the clinic’s values

Doing their part to help local kids beyond clinic walls has always been a core value for COPA physicians. When Dr. Leslie Rust was working to optimize the care for some of her most complex patients, she leaned into the community to find a solution.

Rust connected her patients with Healing Reins, which offers equine-assisted therapies that allow patients to work through physical and emotional challenges on a beautiful 30-acre farm.

“The partnership and relationship with COPA is really important, because it’s based on trust,” says Polly Cohen, executive director of Healing Reins. “They trust that when they hand off a child to us that we’re going to take care of them, that we’re going to provide the most important service they need at that time [...] to improve their lives.”

The program with Healing Reins, which recently launched and is ready to serve an additional 50 to 60 kids every week, is a prime example of how members of the community come together to find new ways to help care for each other, whether they’re a banker, a physical therapist or a pediatrician.

“COPA attracts people who want that type of practice and involvement,” says Rust, who also serves on the board of directors for Healing Reins. “A lot of us choose pediatrics because of the relationship with our patients, with the families, with the community. I think we see that in COPA. A number of us, myself included, ended up here not because COPA was just looking to hire somebody, but because something felt like it would be a really good fit for our goals and values.”

Side-by-side practice growth

Whatever’s next for COPA, U.S. Bank will be with the practice every step of the way.

“Val [Shine] and I speak at minimum every month, if not every other week,” Thomas says. “And we’re always talking about what is changing within their practice and how we need to realign the products and services that we're providing them to adapt to that change.

“We try to dive into a practice to really understand the needs of that practice and what they're hoping to accomplish, not just now but in the future.”