Tracie Koepplin is clinical manager at Physicians’ Medical Center, PC, in McMinnville.

Shortly before her second birthday, Tracie Koepplin was rushed to the hospital because she couldn’t breathe. Turns out she had a rare chronic disease called juvenile-onset recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (JORRP), aka laryngeal papilloma—caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). This condition causes benign tumors to grow on the larynx which can cause serious respiratory problems, and even death. There is no cure. Treatment typically involves surgery to remove the tumors, which frequently grow back.

For Koepplin, they did grow back, over and over again. She’s endured more than 400 surgeries during her lifetime, beginning at age 2, including a tracheotomy at age 4 that placed a permanent breathing tube in her neck. She lived with that tube, called a “trache,” for nine years.

“When I got that trache out, my entire life changed,” Koepplin recalls. “I could go swimming for the first time. My parents had a boat, and I could never go in the boat before just in case the boat sank.”

Today, 55-year-old Koepplin is the clinical manager at Physicians’ Medical Center, PC, in McMinnville, a primary care clinic she’s worked at for 30 years. Her personal health struggles and advocacy for vaccine-preventable diseases (such as HPV) inspired colleagues to nominate Koepplin for Oregon’s 2025 Immunization Champion award.

“I nominated Tracie for this award because I observed firsthand her tireless efforts to improve vaccine communication in our community,” said Dan Cushing, government affairs director at Yamhill Community Care (YCCO—a longtime community partner of Koepplin’s clinic). “One thing that has always stood out about working with Tracie on vaccine communication is her gentle persistence that we must all do better to protect our community from disease.”

The annual award is given jointly by the Association of Immunization Champions (AIM) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to honor people across the nation who go “above and beyond to promote immunizations in their communities.”

Koepplin’s motive for going above and beyond is primarily focused in one area, and it’s personal.

“There’s an HPV vaccine out there that can prevent certain cancers, and it can prevent the spread of HPV in general,” Koepplin said. “But it was initially marketed as an STD (sexually transmitted disease) vaccine, which did a real disservice to parents.”

The HPV vaccine is recommended for all people starting at age 11 or 12, and can be given as early as age 9.  When parents come into Koepplin’s clinic, they may decline HPV vaccination for their child for a few reasons.

“They say their child is not yet sexually active, or that the vaccine is too new, not required for schools, or they believe it’s only for girls,” Koepplin said. “But there are 200 different types of HPV, and most everyone in the world will come in contact with it. While most people will shed (clear) the virus, this is about those not fortunate enough to shed it. For them, the vaccine—which has been around for about 20 years—is about cancer prevention, and conditions like the one I live with.”

HPV is highly contagious and can lead to several types of cancers including cervical, anal, rectal, penile, vulvar, tonsillar, vaginal and throat cancers. It spreads easily through skin-to-skin contact, most often during intimate physical activity but not necessarily intercourse. Although very rare, babies can catch it during a vaginal childbirth if the mother carries HPV. Most adults have been exposed to HPV and can spread it without knowing they have it, because most carriers will never develop symptoms.

Koepplin believes that if every eligible 9-year-old received it, HPV and its related illnesses could be nearly wiped out.

Advocacy beyond the clinic

In 2017, Koepplin took the lead on her clinic’s participation in a 5-year campaign led by Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) called RAVE (Rural Adolescent Vaccine Enterprise) designed to improve HPV immunization rates in rural Oregon.

Earlier this year, Koepplin joined the patient advisory council of the Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis Foundation (RRPF), and is now the chair, traveling all over the country and working with the makers of the HPV vaccine on promotion and raising awareness.

Then there’s the Youth HPV Champions, a student-led initiative through OHSU’s Knight Cancer Institute aimed at increasing awareness for HPV prevention. Koepplin was honored to be asked to speak at their spring conference in March 2025.

“You want to talk about inspiring? Those kids do some really, really cool things,” Koepplin said. “They go around their community, educating and increasing awareness of HPV prevention among youth, also training students to advocate for HPV prevention among their peers. Meeting them at the event was incredibly moving — their energy, their commitment, and their passion for making change left a real impression on me. They’re not just learning; they’re leading. It gave me a lot of hope for the future.”

As these outside endeavors multiplied, Koepplin realized she had the traction and support to do more—to take advantage of existing relationships within Oregon’s coordinated care model and make even greater progress raising awareness and promoting HPV and other life-saving vaccinations.

As an enthusiastic and devoted member of YCCO’s existing community-wide Immunization Workgroup who “never missed a meeting,” Koepplin and the workgroup encouraged YCCO to design and implement a multifaceted public awareness campaign reminding the public about the importance of vaccines at all life stages. The campaign included social media, internet ads, radio, and a TV commercial. English and Spanish messages helped reach diverse audiences throughout the community to encourage families to protect themselves against vaccine-preventable diseases.

The benefit is two-fold: 1) more people are learning about and accessing critical vaccinations, thereby improving overall community health, and 2) when coordinated care organizations such as YCCO meet certain community health goals/metrics, including vaccinations, set by Oregon Health Authority (which they did!), state funds are sent back into the community and reinvested with providers. It’s a win-win.

All of the above is why Tracie Keopplin is Oregon’s 2025 Immunization Champion. Read the announcement here.

The future

As for Koepplin’s health, there’s encouraging progress alongside ongoing challenges. About four years ago, the tumors in her larynx stopped growing. It was a major breakthrough that marked the end of one chapter of her story—frequent surgeries for five decades—and the start of another. Now, new tumors have appeared in her lungs. Though surgery isn’t an option, she’s receiving a targeted monoclonal antibody infusion every six weeks as part of her treatment plan.

Because the medication is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat Koepplin’s condition, her health insurance through her employer doesn’t cover it. She applied with the company that makes the medication to sponsor her treatment and was thankfully accepted. By comparison, the regimen is liberating.

“I’ve now gone four years without any surgeries,” Koepplin exclaimed, “and you just can’t understand how good it feels!”

Koepplin is deeply passionate about ensuring that no other child or adult must endure the challenges she’s faced in her own life.

“That is my mission,” she said.

The Immunization Champion Award is presented annually during National Immunization Awareness Month (August) to people from across the country. This year, 46 people were recognized. You can read about all 2025 honorees here.