It started as an idea.
In 1946, Dr. C.J. Rademacher realized that if he joined other physicians, they could offer more comprehensive healthcare as a group than they could separately. An internist named Dr. Max Hemingway, a general surgeon named Dr. Bradford N. Pease, general practice and OB-GYN named Dr. Richard C. Robinson, and an Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat physician named Dr. Lorance B. Evers believed in Dr. Rademacher’s vision. They banded together, forming the foundation of what we now call TotalCare.
The first clinic location was at 1036 Wall Street in downtown Bend. Originally named the Robert Hemingway Memorial Clinic in honor of Dr. Hemingway’s fallen brother, the clinic soon outgrew its spot on Wall Street and moved to 409 NE Greenwood in 1957 where seven physicians practiced. When Dr. Hemingway left the group, the remaining doctors decided to re-name the clinic Bend Memorial Clinic.
Bend Memorial Clinic continued to grow. By 1976, the clinic moved to its current location at 1501 NE Medical Center Drive, where it continued to add physicians, staff, and specialties. In 1987, the clinic started to expand to neighboring communities. A satellite office opened in LaPine (subsequently closed in 2002), and in 1991 another satellite office was opened in Sisters. By 2005, another satellite office opened in Redmond, and in 2006 the Westside Clinic in Bend opened its doors (specialties at the Westside location moved into the larger facility located in the Old Mill District Clinic in 2014 and the clinic closed its doors). In 2006, Bend Memorial Clinic transitioned to an electronic medical record system from print to offer faster and easier access to clinical data and to improve patient accessibility.
By 2009, Bend Memorial Clinic became the first healthcare facility in Oregon to be awarded accreditation for Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy by the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS). Later that year, the Hospitalist program was established to help facilitate continuity of care for Bend Memorial Clinic patients admitted to the hospital. In 2011, the Mt. Bachelor Clinic was opened as an Urgent Care facility available during ski season. Bend Memorial Clinic continued to grow and gain accreditation. By 2012, our medical clinic was recognized as a Tier 3 patient centered Primary Care medical home. Driven by medical advancements and continued growth, digital x-ray capabilities were implemented in the clinics in 2013, making the x-ray process easier and more efficient in transferring and exchanging images.
The Redmond clinic then expanded to offer a complete range of specialties and physicians. In the Fall of 2014, Bend Memorial Clinic opened an Old Mill District Clinic located at 815 SW Bond Street. By 2014, Bend Memorial Clinic was the first to offer 3-D Mammography in Central Oregon, providing women with access to a technology that significantly improves breast cancer screenings. Advances in technology guided Bend Memorial Clinic to launch EPIC in 2015, a new electronic health record software system that has transformed the way providers and caregivers access patient’s medical information.
On January 1st, 2018, Bend Memorial Clinic partnered with Summit Health Management and took on the new name of Summit Medical Group Oregon. Summit Health Management is one of the nation’s leading physician-owned ambulatory care management companies that now provides administrative, clinical, and financial management services to BMC. This partnership helped expand and enhance the services that Bend Memorial Clinic could offer to meet the community’s growing medical needs in order to deliver on the commitment to providing patients with comprehensive TotalCare.
Summit Health Management is now the largest multi-specialty clinic in Central Oregon with five clinic locations, over 120 providers, 32 specialties and services, and a firm commitment to the TotalCare promise. Dr. Rademacher’s vision has indeed come to life and we invite our patients to join us as we continue making history in healthcare.
