2020 marks several unprecedented events but it is also an important milestone for dental industry leader, Willamette Dental Group. The multi-specialty group practice and insurance company celebrates its 50th year in business by reflecting on half a century of change and looking forward to ongoing innovation and improvement.
The practice was co-founded in 1970 by Dr. Gerald Cogan and Dr. Eugene Skourtes in a single dental practice in downtown Portland, Oregon. Dr. Cogan developed a capitated model from which Dr. Skourtes fostered a new approach to dental care – one that focuses on prevention and long-term oral health. This philosophy evolved and the single practice has grown to more than 50 practices throughout Oregon, Washington and Idaho.
With more than 1300 employees and 500,000 insurance members, Willamette Dental Group is the largest multi-specialty dental practice in the Northwest. Through investments in the latest technological advancements and participation in global research on the forefront of minimizing care disparities and enhancing quality of care, the company has proven itself year after year even as it challenged conventional thinking.
“Our mission continues to drive us – to deliver proactive patient care through a partnership with our patients to stop the disease-repair cycle by means of evidence-based methods of prevention and treatment. Through embodying our core values of innovation, health, compassion, and integrity, our teams all work together to move our vision forward of being the employer and provider of choice,” says Dr. Eugene Skourtes, who continues to run the company as CEO and President, 50 years after its founding.
As health care evolves around sustaining wellbeing rather than responding to illness, Willamette Dental Group is positioned well. Their mission is on point with sustaining wellbeing rather than just treating the effects of periodontal disease and dental decay. In this milestone year, the company’s teams renew their commitment to the quality of clinical care delivered to all patients.
To mark this milestone, the company is highlighting employee stories over the coming year to tell the stories that built Willamette Dental Group and will continue to move its mission forward.
