Salem, OR – PeaceHealth, a healthcare system with medical centers throughout the Pacific Northwest, will no longer transition their Lane County emergency department staffing to an out-of-state company. PeaceHealth had earlier announced outsourcing ED staffing at three facilities, including the busy Sacred Heart Medical Center emergency department at River Bend, a Level II trauma center. As announced today, PeaceHealth will directly employ physicians at its Florence location, a continued practice, and will offer a contract extension to Eugene Emergency Physicians.
“Lane County and the surrounding region need PeaceHealth to be an exceptional place of care and a reliable partner in the community,” Governor Kotek said. “This is an important and necessary step to rebuilding trust. I commend CEO Sarah Ness for reassessing the situation, listening to the community, and exhibiting courageous leadership.”
Governor Kotek has repeatedly called on PeaceHealth to reverse their decision to outsource their emergency department staffing. The Governor’s Office has been closely engaged with PeaceHealth to minimize disruption to care. On March 11, Governor Kotek met with PeaceHealth leadership expressing her concerns. On March 18, Governor Kotek sent a letter to PeaceHealth asking for delay and reconsideration. The Governor has been actively engaged with PeaceHealth since, including monitoring developments through the Oregon Health Authority and weekly reports from the Oregon Medical Board.
Most recently, the Governor and Speaker met with PeaceHealth administrators, asking them to make tangible progress by Friday, May 8. During that meeting with Sarah Ness, PeaceHealth CEO, the leaders expressed their concern regarding risk of inadequate staffing in Lane County and called on PeaceHealth to reverse this decision and take clear steps to prevent further disruption to the region’s healthcare system, loss of local physician workforce, and lack of transparency around the decision making.
“Our community depends on stable, local emergency care, and I appreciate that PeaceHealth made the right call by listening to local voices and keeping care in the hands of the providers who have been working here for decades,” said House Speaker Julie Fahey (D-West Eugene and Veneta). "I want to thank all of the local leaders and health care providers who advocated for this outcome—today’s announcement is an important step in moving forward and ensuring that critical health services are there when Lane County residents need them most.”
“We believe this reset is the right decision for the community,” said Sarah Ness, CEO of PeaceHealth. “I want to thank local leaders, in particular Governor Kotek and Speaker Fahey, for their engagement. Together, we are focused on rebuilding trust and delivering the reliable, high-quality care our physicians, caregivers and the communities expect and deserve.”
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