(LCHC’s three-story Wellness Center is slated for completion in spring 2025 | Photo by Andrea Hine)
Celebrating its 15th anniversary, La Pine Community Health Center (LCHC) has built a reputation for providing high-quality, accessible health care to everyone — regardless of income or insurance status. This commitment has remained constant over the years — even in the face of a burgeoning population, a global pandemic, demographic shifts, economic uncertainties, and the gradual expansion of LCHC’s physical space, patient count, and breadth of services. “As a community health center, you must adapt and grow to meet the ever-changing needs of the community,” said CEO Erin Trapp. “Health care is not stagnant; that’s the beauty of it.”
A Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) under the oversight of Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) — one of 34 in Oregon that collectively operate more than 270 sites across the state — La Pine Community Health Center has grown from a small, dedicated clinic into a comprehensive health center that serves thousands of patients across south Deschutes County, northern Klamath County and western Lake County.
“Each FQHC is unique to the community it serves,” Trapp said. “There is not a ‘one size fits all’ formula in terms of building a clinical department, training staff, improving direct patient care, and other priorities. To be effective, an FQHC must get to know its community and what is required to maintain the health of its residents.”
And, she added, “in rural and underserved communities, you need to figure out what specific services are not being provided — such as pediatrics or behavioral health — and fill in those gaps, even with limited resources. Throughout our 15-year history, LCHC has been committed to overcoming barriers to care — ensuring that no one is left behind when it comes to health and wellness.”
With years of experience in health systems and cancer centers, most recently as Clinical Director for another Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in southern Ohio, Trapp joined LCHC in 2019 as Director of Nursing, becoming CEO in 2023. “I’ve learned that as an FQHC, you work with what you have, and constantly try to make a small impact, as even that goes a long way,” she said.
As an example, Trapp shared the story of a patient “who recently told us that ‘nobody has ever cared about me before. The concern La Pine Community Health Center staff has shown made me realize that I have to start caring for myself.’”
She added that “all of us were taken aback by the words of this patient, which is a testament that our team is making a difference. I’m proud to be a leader of employees who live out our mission, and believe ‘this is what we do, and why we come to work every day.’”
In the same vein, Trapp also believes that the best training “includes giving staff the freedom to use their talents to the fullest extent, and empowering them to be change agents. As managers and leaders, we have the responsibility to create a safe space so employees can be innovative.” (Proof of the effectiveness of LCHC’s philosophy is its high rate of employee retention, and its having been named — for the third time — as one of Oregon’s top workplaces by The Oregonian.)
At LCHC, Trapp said, “we treat our patients as people, rather than as numbers — and take care of the whole person, meeting patients where they are without judgement. Our support services — which include an outreach program, a dietician, pharmacist, and psychologist — lead to wraparound care for the entire family, from pre-natal to young people in school to geriatric patients.”
As part of its ongoing efforts to “follow our mission and improve the health of the communities we serve,” to quote Trapp, LCHC broke ground last year on a major campus expansion: a three-story, 27,000-square-foot Wellness Center that will more than double its current space. The facility — which will accommodate behavioral health, dental, and imaging services that previously were available only (or in a limited capacity) some 30 miles away in Bend — already dominates La Pine’s skyline, with completion slated for spring 2025.
“This 15-year milestone is not only a celebration of our history, but also a reflection of the future of healthcare in our region,” Trapp said. “And thanks to our dedicated staff, board members, and community partners who have supported La Pine Community Health Center’s mission throughout the years, we’ll keep thinking ahead, and taking care of those who depend on us, to the very best of our abilities.”
