Author: Dr. Paul Helpard, CEO
When Corus Orthodontists, a North American orthodontic partnership network, was launched one year ago today, I never imagined the journey in front of us. What a year it has been! Despite the obstacles we’ve overcome, I’ve seen tremendous growth – not just in our network, but in our teams and ourselves. As I reflect on the year, I am confident in our ability to persevere through hardships with the power of our partnership model.
I am immensely grateful to be where we are today. I am thankful for every single person within our network who helped make navigating a global pandemic easier. Our group came together not just as a network of professionals who genuinely care about their patients, but also as a family, having each other’s backs in difficult times.
I attribute our ability to thrive during the COVID-19 pandemic to our strong network and our business model. Our patient care was never compromised, even when our offices were closed. At the core of our model, and what makes us most unique, is that the custodianship of the patient records is in the hands of the partner orthodontist in the practice. This is reflective of the traditional professional relationship that doesn’t exist in other DSOs. Further to our success during unprecedented times, we had a robust return to work toolkit adapted for each jurisdiction. We also sourced the necessary PPE as a group, which gave us buying power and faster delivery to our practices. We supported our teams financially without layoffs, and through constant collaboration with peers, we continued to move forward.
While this was a more challenging year than expected, we brought on five new practice partners, exceeding expectations in our first year, for a total of 17 practices. That success continues with a very positive outlook for 2021, with additional practices being added to the Corus network in the days and months ahead in both Canada and the U.S. We have gained tremendous momentum organically through the growing strength of our brand value.
Our doctors are quality specialists with diverse backgrounds, all of whom share our values and desire to deliver exceptional patient care. They teach in Graduate Orthodontic Programs, are active in the specialty, and active in their communities. They are both growth-minded and forward-thinking. It’s been rewarding to see our network of doctors share best practices, provide mentorship to new doctors, and help one another grow their businesses. They’ve been such a force working together!
Operational excellence is a critical element of our value proposition, and our executive leaders worked hard to lay the foundations of an exceptional home office team. Strong supports around operations, people, culture, marketing, and IT are being built. Our practices work closely with their regional coaches who provide customized support where they need it most.
Our continued commitment is to facilitate collaboration, foster an inclusive culture, and fully support our teams (now more than 350 strong) – and we are well on our way! Our goal is to deliver on that promise with Corus Connect, to communicate and share best practices, Corus College, to offer world-class personal and professional development, and Corus Cares to give back to the communities that support us.
As we mark our first anniversary as a network, I am thankful for our doctors, staff, communities, and patients for making us who we are today. I am energized as we continue this journey together – evolving our specialty and continuing to build something that we can all be proud of.
If you would like to learn more about Corus Orthodontists, I invite you connect with us– because we’re always thankful for the opportunity to meet new doctors who believe in making our specialty better by working together.
