Trying to add a payment method? You can do this on the 
QuickTake:
Doctors and nurses rallied outside PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in their latest attempt to keep the hospital’s longtime emergency physician group under contract. PeaceHealth plans to replace the local practice with a new one supported by Atlanta-based ApolloMD.
Dozens of people who work on the frontlines of emergency care in Eugene and Springfield rallied on the sidewalks Thursday outside PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend, calling on the hospital to keep its emergency department doctors local.
PeaceHealth executive leadership is working with Atlanta-based contractor ApolloMD to support the launch of Lane Emergency Physicians, a new practice that will be owned by an Illinois doctor. The incoming group replaces the existing practice, Eugene Emergency Physicians — with its 35-year contract coming to an end in June.
Forty-one medical professionals — 32 doctors and nine physician assistants — who work through the local group have signed a pledge not to work with ApolloMD for at least 90 days. Some say they plan to never return, citing concerns about their ability to provide quality patient care and how physicians are treated.
It has been five weeks since nurses and doctors learned about the switch. Many were working on the emergency department floor Feb. 3 when the announcement came by email from Chief Hospital Officer Jim McGovern.
“When I was working toward the end of my shift when we heard the news [Feb. 3] … everybody just paused a bit, took in a moment, and continued to care for people that kept on coming through our doors,” said Dr. Julie Seo, employed through Eugene Emergency Physicians. “People were really, really sick with strokes, with heart attacks and big traumas, and everybody just kept on going, and took care of the community.”
We care about the community. We are family. We want to do what we are trained to do: take care of the people we love. Dr. Julie Seo
Since the announcement, shifts have been somber, workers say, in an already-tense emergency department with strained resources and conditions.
“Every time that I go into the shift, I remind myself why I’m here, why I’m doing this, remembering that I truly love this community, and I want to continue to be here, and I’m going to continue to do the very best that I can,” said Dr. Gianina Best, employed through Eugene Emergency Physicians.
Every day that I show up, it is hard coming to the emergency department knowing that this could potentially be my last few months here. Dr. Gianina Best
Some expect things to get worse and don’t believe their concerns have been truly heard as leadership moves forward with its ApolloMD plans. Doctors at RiverBend voted nearly unanimously that they do not have confidence in the decision to replace the emergency department provider group.
The medical staff includes physicians whose patients first come through the emergency department before being admitted to other specialties. Such coordination takes trust, said Dr. Marius Pakalniskis, a radiologist, during the rally.
“They are excellent physicians. They are highly trained. They care about their patients. I’ve trusted them. I’ve trusted them with my children, and it would be a real shame to see them leave the community,” Pakalniskis said.
Trust is something that takes a very long time to cultivate and plays a very important role in delivering positive outcomes …It’s something that can’t be replaced overnight. Dr. Marius Pakalniskis, Radiologist
Eugene Emergency Physicians calls itself a democratic group, meaning several doctors weigh in and vote on decisions rather than authority resting with a single executive. It’s a structure that has attracted talent from across the country. Many of the physicians who helped build that culture and are now retired stand by those continuing their values today.
“I think it’s really sad. The group here has been in place since 1991,” said William Miller, who worked for Eugene Emergency Physicians, known as EEP, referencing the now shuttered PeaceHealth emergency department in the University District.
[PeaceHealth] has had a number of administrations that have come and gone … we’ve always been supportive of the administration and the hospital, and they’ve been supportive of EEP as well, and at this point, I feel like there’s no support for EEP. William Miller, MD
Nurses like Kylie Shorack have worked alongside EEP doctors in the emergency department at RiverBend for years.
“The idea that we can lose them is still very hurtful. It’s still very scary,” said Shorack, speaking on behalf of her union, Oregon Nurses Association, and not her employer.
She said friends who work in health care in other states have been reaching out after hearing about the fight to keep EEP at PeaceHealth.
“It’s like David and Goliath,” she said. “And we’re the David.”
I didn’t want EEP to feel alone … like don’t give up, we’ve got your back, we’re behind you. I think they feel that now … It feels like we could start a high movement of this fight against corporate medicine. Kylie Shorack, registered Nurse
Attention continues to grow as elected leaders question whether ApolloMD complies with Oregon’s private equity laws. ApolloMD maintains it is not a private equity firm, despite financial databases showing it has received such investments.
State Sens. James Manning and Floyd Prozanski and state Rep. Lisa Fragala attended the rally with workers and community members.
PeaceHealth released the following statement as the rally came to a close:
“PeaceHealth made this management change to help improve our emergency department processes so we can better provide great care to more people. Our focus is on the upcoming transition, and we continue to hope that current Eugene Emergency Physicians will decide to hear what Lane Emergency Physicians can offer them and choose to remain with us.”
Have something to say?
Send us a Letter to the Editor. Read our guidelines for Letters to the Editor here.
