Gorge Local - In Business: Columbia Gorge Family Medicine turns 40

One of the first things you read on the Columbia Gorge Family Medicine website is: “Independent. Locally Owned.” Most of us wouldn’t think twice about this, but it has a significant effect on their approach to patient care, Sanders said.

Most doctors’ offices or medical practices are owned by a corporate entity, such as a hospital group (the local hospital is owned by Providence Health System, for example), private equity groups, health insurers, or pharmacy chains. CGFM is not.

A medical practice owned by a corporation is subjected to certain pressures that do not necessarily apply at CGFM, namely, profit, he said. CGFM is owned by the doctors who work there: Tony Gay, Matthew Sperry, Jessica Porter, Tyler Gray, and Peter Benziger. They employ a full support staff, including a registered nurse, physician assistants, and behavioral health experts. While they must ensure that their business is financially successful, they get to make their own decisions about how to do that.

The independent, locally owned medical practice is becoming more rare: only 35% of doctors’ offices are owned by the doctors who work there, and the majority of those are solo practices. Executive Director Lindsey Kuipers explained that the doctors at CGFM don’t have to answer to a corporation; they answer to their patients. This model encourages life-long care of not only a patient, but their entire family. It also lets the owners — in this case the doctors — make financial decisions based on their philosophy of inclusion and access to quality healthcare.

Though running a business is always risky, the model has advantages for doctors as well. The team meets regularly to discuss medical innovation and research, and to problem-solve. Each doctor has autonomy, and as a group, they decide their own priorities for their practice.

 “When you’re in a small practice where the doctors run the show, your priorities are doing what’s best for medical care and for your community,” said Gay, who has been with CGFM for 35 years. “We need to do enough financial stewardship to run a business, yes, but it’s not our primary goal.”

Their goal, said Gay, is to treat the whole family and to care for the patient for a lifetime. They deliver babies and provide care from pediatrics to geriatrics. They adjust their hours, fees, and practice to provide the best care for the people of Hood River County.

“We want to be part of a community that makes people’s lives better,” said Gay.

The owners of CGFM want their practice to be a “Patient-Centered Primary Care Home.” They try to nurture the long-term relationship between a doctor and their patient.

“We think this is better patient care,” he said.

The five doctors at CGFM are like a family running a business. For their patients, this independent, locally-owned model means personalized, lifelong care that puts people over profit.