Spotlight: Clem Pope, PA, brings experience and dedication to Oakridge clinic and the community

By CHAELA CARLSON/for The Herald  —   Physician Assistant Clem Pope is an outstanding member of the Oakridge community. But he can’t be stuck with a single label. Pope is a man with an extensive background in many diverse areas. Currently, he works at the Orchid Health Clinic as a Physician Assistant and is the board chair of the Oakridge School District’s school board.

At 19, Pope began working as a firefighter for the Moose Creek Ranger District in the Nez Perce National Forest. He later joined a hotshot crew; a team of highly trained wildland firefighters who battle some of the most dangerous and challenging wildfires.

“My dad worked for the Forest Service, so a lot of my summers were spent living at backcountry guard stations,” Pope explained. He got much of his sense of adventure from his father and growing up around firefighters.

In 2003, Clem began smokejumping in Grangeville, Idaho. Smokejumpers parachute into remote wildfires that cannot be accessed otherwise and are often the first line of defense. “I was in Grangeville until 2008, spending summers there and most winters in the Air Guard,” says Pope.

In 2004, Pope met his wife, Sarah, while training together in Missoula, Montana. They began dating in 2006 after working together as smokejumpers in Silver City, New Mexico. They were married two years later. Sarah Altimus Pope grew up in Oakridge where her family still has its roots.

While working for the Forest Service, Pope received training as a paramedic. Pope got his first experience with major emergencies, dealing with everything from car accidents to parachuting mishaps, as well as people drinking contaminated water.

Most winters, he served in the Air National Guard, from 2005 to 2011. During this time, he earned his pilot’s license and served in a Tactical Air Control Party unit.

A Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) is a group of specially trained Air Force Special Warfare airmen who call in air strikes and direct firepower during combat. “It was our job to direct close air support (air strikes) to support frontline Army units,” Pope states.

From mid-2009 to mid-2010, he was deployed into combat in Iraq. It was during this time that he was awarded an Army Commendation Medal for meritorious service in integrating close air support with ground combat operations.

Many of Pope’s missions were to improve security by stopping weapons from moving in and out of Iraq. In addition to working security, his unit also involved in projects like building schools and a hospital.

After leaving the Air National Guard, Pope and his wife and children settled here in Oakridge, where he began working for a short time as a paramedic. “As a paramedic, I saw the need for more primary care services, especially in rural areas, so people didn’t have to go to the hospital or urgent care as much,” Pope explained.

With that philosophy in mind, he went back to college, receiving his Bachelor of Science degree from Oregon State University and his Master of Physician Assistant Studies from Oregon Health & Science University in 2020.

Oakridge is one of the top ten places in Oregon that have unmet healthcare needs, inspiring 2 business students from the University of Oregon to open the Orchid Health Clinic in 2014 as their Oregon Social Business Challenge healthcare project.

Pope began working as a Physician’s Assistant at Orchid Health Clinic in Oakridge a little over two-and-a-half years ago after working in the emergency department at Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg, Oregon.

“In school, part of my focus was in rural medicine and I knew I wanted to work in a rural area,” says Pope. “I chose Oakridge because of everything the community and area has to offer. It has been a good place to raise our kids, and we are close to the mountains and rivers where we like to play. I also have other opportunities, like being able to serve on the school board, that are harder in a bigger town.”

These days, his wife Sarah is the Executive Director of the Southern Willamette Forest Collaborative in Oakridge. She is also a lawyer and does some law work doing mostly estate planning.

Together they have 3 children, ages 20, 16, and 9. He and his family love to ski, camp, hike, ride bikes, go on hunting trips, and travel. Pope says simply, “We like to be outside.”

Pondering on his life’s work, Pope explains, “I have also been trying to think of specific stories of why I have gone the direction I have. I don’t really have any one or two good stories. I think I have ended up where I have because of many of the experiences I have had. When you’re making decisions that affect someone else’s life and their family, [it] gives you the bigger picture.”

A theme in all his work is that he’s always part of a team. “I didn’t get to where I’m at on my own. I had lots of help from others, so it’s important for me to give back in the same way,” Pope says. One of his biggest values is community service. That is what has led him to the community of Oakridge and his life’s work.

As Clem describes himself, he reflects that he is “loyal, calm, and adventurous,” and his life certainly proves his self-assessment. Oakridge values Clem Pope’s contributions to the health and quality-of-life of its people.