What happens when you empower incredible independent providers
Nine months of care in a small Arizona town, told through its own numbers, its patients’ voices, and the people delivering it.
Ninety miles from Phoenix, consistent quality care was hard to find
Globe, Arizona sits in the copper corridor, about ninety miles east of Phoenix. For years, a routine physical or a diabetes check-in here could mean a long drive, a longer wait, and a visit that ended before it really began.
In November 2025, that changed. Copper Roots Family Care opened on North Broad Street, an independent, nurse-practitioner-led primary care practice built through a partnership between Corner Health, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona Health Choice, and Susan Robertson, a local nurse practitioner.
Health Choice’s funding, part of a broader $100,000 commitment, enabled the practice to get critical equipment, such as the vaccine fridge that lets families get immunizations right in the practice. Corner Health carries the back-office weight, so the providers can focus on practicing medicine. Susan brought the clinical expertise and the local trust.
Nine months in, the practice has cared for more than 1,000 patients across over 4,000 visits - from newborns to patients near 100 years old, often seeing entire families, from great-grandparents to great-grandkids. What has happened since says a lot about what independent care can unlock.
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“Arizona is full of talented providers who want nothing more than to care for the communities they call home. Our job is to empower them to do it, especially in the rural corners of the state that have gone too long without. Working with Corner Health, we can put great clinicians in the places that need them most and give them room to do their best work. Copper Roots shows exactly what’s possible when we do.”
Time + Trust = Prevention
Copper Roots is part of the Corner Health network, which takes the administrative burden of private practice off providers’ plates. That frees them to spend twice as much time with patients.
Roughly double a typical primary care visit. Twelve to fifteen patients a day, not the twenty-plus a packed schedule demands, leaves room to truly listen to the patient.
Whole families are moving their care here: parents bringing children, spouses following one another in. People act on advice from someone they trust.
When patients stay long enough to be known, the practice can screen, catch, and manage instead of react to one-off urgent visits.
“What I hear most is ‘you listen, you don’t judge.’ Patients tell me they feel safe in my room. One told me it feels like coming home. That is why they come back.”
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The patients who need it most are the ones who engage deeply
At most practices, patients carrying the most conditions are the hardest to keep engaged. At Copper Roots it is the other way around. The more a patient is managing, the more likely they are to come back.
Patients managing both a chronic condition and mental health are the ones the healthcare system struggles most to keep engaged. Someone managing diabetes and depression at the same time has every reason to give up on appointments, and in most systems that is exactly what happens. At Copper Roots in Globe, they are the ones who keep coming back. In fact, nearly 96% of patients managing both a chronic and a mental health condition return. A visit long enough to ask how someone is really doing, with someone who remembers the answer, changes what showing up feels like.
“Copper Roots is what happens when providers are given everything they need to practice the way they always wanted to. Susan owns this clinic and sets the standard of care in it, and the care she is giving Globe is extraordinary. We could not be prouder to stand behind her, and we are excited to keep building with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona Health Choice to support more providers like her across Arizona.”
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What patients in Globe say
“I’ve never had a healthcare provider like Sue. In the past, every doctor only focused on my weight and never truly listened. But Sue saw me, not just a number on a scale. She took the time to understand the full picture and helped me work through not only my physical health but also my depression and confidence. Thanks to her guidance, I’ve made real progress. I feel healthier, more empowered, and I finally understand my body in a way I never have before. Sue changed the way I view healthcare, and I’m forever grateful.”
“My husband and I both are patients of Susan Robertson at Copper Roots and absolutely adore her. She is friendly, down to earth, easy to talk to, explains everything to you in a way you can understand and she truly listens to what you tell her. We would highly recommend Copper Roots Family Care and Susan to anyone looking for quality medical care.”
“Susan is an absolutely amazing person. She doesn’t just hear me, she listens to me. I feel comfortable with her and I can talk to her about any concerns that I may have. Susan takes her time with me and makes sure that my visit with her is satisfied and complete. She has one of the most uplifting personalities of any person I have met. I highly recommend Susan to anybody who would like to become a patient of hers.”
“Susan is an exceptional healthcare professional whose depth of knowledge, attention to detail, and genuine compassion shine through in every interaction. She consistently takes the time to listen and truly understand her patients, making each visit feel personalized and reassuring. It’s rare to find a healthcare professional who blends clinical expertise with such warmth and empathy.”
Expanding this model across Arizona
Following Copper Roots’ success in Globe, Corner Health and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona Health Choice are excited to expand this model of care with more incredible providers across Arizona.
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This is what primary care can look like when you empower and support providers to deliver independent, local medicine.