Dr. P. Cooper White was the long-time director of the Locust Pediatric Care Group, until passing the baton to Dr. Megan Knowles a year ago.
“Special needs families are a world unto themselves,” said Tammie Memmer-Prentiss, who first met Dr. P. Cooper White when her son, Tristan, was a 3-year-old neonatal intensive care unit graduate with cerebral palsy. “A lot of doctors are afraid of us but not Dr. White. He has always known exactly what we needed.”
Dr. White, a general pediatrician with the Locust Pediatric Care Group, will retire on Oct. 31. He has been Tristan’s pediatrician through the age of 21, seeing him through numerous issues like inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis, colostomy surgery and the complications that come with being wheelchair-bound.
“He’s more than complex,” said Tammie, of Tristan. “Dr. White has walked us through a lot. He listens and he hears you. It’s hard to give him up.”
Dr. White examines a 13-year-old patient in 2021.
Dr. White will have the satisfaction of knowing that he has made a difference in caring for kids like Tristan over a career in pediatrics spanning more than 4 decades.
Kids with chronic illnesses and developmental delays. Kids in homes lacking in food or living with hidden health threats like mold or lead paint. Kids whose families are finding their way in a new country after having to flee homes with little more than the clothes they are wearing.
Dr. White accepted the position as director of Locust Pediatrics in 2006 after spending 19 years with a pediatric practice in Cleveland. Having spent the start of his career on a National Health Service Corps scholarship, working with underserved families in Peekskill, New York, he welcomed the opportunity to lead a pediatrics practice known for its interest in children with special health needs, complex conditions, international families, as well as foster parents and adopted children.
“When I think about pediatrics practice, the thing that is always uppermost in my mind are the relationships that you establish with people,” Dr. White said. “I’ve had some great relationships with the people and families that I’ve taken care of over the years, and that’s what I’m going to miss the most.”
Locust Pediatrics began in the mid-1990s as the hospital’s primary care network started to branch out into the city and suburbs. An effort was made to identify patients with complex medical or social needs and keep them at one primary care practice still on the main Akron hospital campus.
Dr. White viewed leading the practice as a challenging mid-career opportunity. He especially welcomed the opportunity to work with colleagues like Drs. Keith Powell, and John and Margaret McBride whom he knew from his days as a pediatrics resident at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York.
Dr. White has loved practicing pediatrics, but also leading the hospital in quality work, such as around asthma management across all the primary care offices.
Over the years, Locust Pediatrics also became a medical hub for many refugee families settling in Akron.
“With the nature of this practice, having community relationships is very important,” said Dr. White. “We’ve developed relationships with the International Institute of Akron, Community Legal Aid, Summit County Public Health and some of the shelters we serve.”
Dr. White served as associate chair for primary care and community health in the Department of Pediatrics from 2013 to 2022. He also spent time in medical staff leadership, serving as president from 2015-2017.
As the hospital began looking at systemic approaches to improving care, Dr. White said he and his team “jumped on the quality bandwagon with both feet.”
He took a leadership role in Akron Children’s quality work around asthma care. The hospital identified children not currently diagnosed with asthma and set up a patient registry to track outcomes. This resulted in fewer emergency room visits and hospitalizations, and more kids staying in school.
He also led Locust Pediatrics and the rest of the then Akron Children’s Hospital Pediatrics network through the process of achieving Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) recognition by the National Committee for Quality Assurance.
“It was important for me to have Locust Pediatrics get this designation and make those ideals and practices our own, and we were successful in getting that as a single practice,” he said. “Then when the health care economy and payment evolution occurred, incentives were in place to get the entire primary care network on board, so I was part of that process too.”
Dr. Joel Davidson, who has worked with Dr. White for 17 years, said his “calm leadership and unwavering commitment to excellence” have helped to build Locust Pediatrics and Akron Children’s Pediatrics into what they are today.
“He is consistently respectful, compassionate and caring toward patients, families, students, residents and colleagues, setting a tone of trust and professionalism that has shaped our culture,” Dr. Davidson said. “Dr. White has always balanced adaptability with clear expectations for excellent care, and he never lost sight of why we are here. Every decision began and ended with the needs of the child.
“His dedication to children with complex medical and social needs is unmatched. His willingness to go above and beyond – even sharing his personal phone number with families before MyChart existed – speaks volumes about his heart for patient care,” he added.
Though he briefly considered a career as a research scientist, he has no regrets about choosing medical school and his path toward pediatrics.
“It was a good fit for me,” Dr. White said. “I figured if I was going to be taking care of people, I was going to have a lot more fun with kids.”
And he is happy to end his career at what he thinks might be “the best pediatric practice” in Ohio.
In retirement, Dr. White looks forward to spending more time with his wife, children and grandchildren. He plans to stay engaged and pass along some of his wisdom and experience in a group discussion class for medical students at Case Western Reserve University.
Deb White, with two of the White grandchildren on a Montana vacation last year. Dr. White is looking forward to more time for family and travel in retirement.
