{"id":24570,"date":"2026-05-05T14:19:47","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T18:19:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.merkley.senate.gov\/?p=24570"},"modified":"2026-05-05T14:19:49","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T18:19:49","slug":"merkley-wyden-hoyle-concerned-about-eugenes-peacehealth-transitioning-emergency-medical-providers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.merkley.senate.gov\/es\/merkley-wyden-hoyle-concerned-about-eugenes-peacehealth-transitioning-emergency-medical-providers\/","title":{"rendered":"Merkley, Wyden, Hoyle Concerned About Eugene\u2019s PeaceHealth Transitioning Emergency Medical Providers\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><em>Lawmakers Urge Partnership with Physicians, Community to Best Serve Lane County<\/em>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Eugene, OR \u2013 Oregon&#8217;s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, along with Congresswoman Val Hoyle (OR-04), expressed concerns about PeaceHealth\u2019s decision to end its contract with local Eugene Emergency Physicians in favor of Lane Emergency Physicians, which is owned by an Illinois physician and managed by Georgia-based&nbsp;ApolloMD.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><strong>\u201cWe are troubled after hearing of PeaceHealth&#8217;s proposed changes to emergency department (ED) physician staffing across three Oregon hospitals,\u201d&nbsp;<\/strong>wrote Merkley, Wyden, and Hoyle.&nbsp;<strong>\u201cThese emergency departments are critical to the region, and we are deeply concerned that this approach may negatively impact patient care, workforce retention, and PeaceHealth&#8217;s ability to maintain the efficiency necessary as the region&#8217;s primary Level II trauma center.\u201d<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The change affects three medical centers across Lane County, including PeaceHealth\u2019s Riverbend in Springfield \u2013 a Level II trauma center \u2013 Cottage Grove Medical Center, and Peace Harbor Medical Center in Florence. PeaceHealth Riverbend is the only Level II trauma center \u2013 which provides specialized care for severely injured patients \u2013 between Corvallis and the California border.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>The lawmakers pointed out,&nbsp;<strong>\u201cRapid corporate staffing changes, particularly those driven by cost-cutting measures, private equity involvement, and third-party staffing firms, have been associated with increased ED wait times and reduced operational efficiency. Community members, physicians, and hospital staff have shared significant concerns that this decision could lead to inadequate staffing, which would result in serious disruption and deterioration of ED services at these critical PeaceHealth locations.\u201d<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><strong>\u201cWe urge PeaceHealth to work in partnership and transparently with physicians, staff, and the community to develop an emergency department staffing plan that ensures continuity of care and maintains the integrity and reliability of emergency services across Lane County,\u201d<\/strong>&nbsp;Merkley, Wyden, and Hoyle concluded.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Full text of the letter can be found by clicking&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.merkley.senate.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/PeaceHealth-ED-Staffing-Merkley_Wyden_Val-Hoyle-FNL.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">aqu\u00ed<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">###&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lawmakers Urge Partnership with Physicians, Community to Best Serve Lane County&nbsp; Eugene, OR \u2013 Oregon&#8217;s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, along with Congresswoman Val Hoyle (OR-04), expressed concerns about PeaceHealth\u2019s decision to end its contract with local Eugene Emergency Physicians in favor of Lane Emergency Physicians, which is owned by an Illinois physician [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":18847,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[118,37],"class_list":["post-24570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-releases","tag-delivering-for-oregon","tag-health-care"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - 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