I’m writing to share my deep concern over the termination of the contract with our local ER doctors. Eugene Emergency Physicians has led our local ER at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend (and previously University District) with integrity for 35 years. Their contract termination would lead the way for Atlanta-based ApolloMD to step in and run our ER with no investment in our community. What we stand to lose is far greater than a profit margin. 

ApolloMD has a past full of questionable practices. From claims of fraudulent billing schemes leading to a lawsuit, to a data breach that led to 626,000 people having their personal information leaked, ApolloMD has already shown us that a corporate takeover of our medical systems is not neutral. It has tangible and detrimental consequences. Eugene Emergency Physicians understands this and is not willing to risk returning under ApolloMD knowing that the quality of care will only deteriorate. 

In emergency situations, where decisions need to be made rapidly, our ER doctors rely on the personal relationships they have built with their colleagues over years to ensure patients have the best outcomes. These calls between doctors are effective and are born out of living in the community they work in, not just from working within hospital walls. What’s more, parents depend on the pediatric care their children can only receive from the RiverBend ER, which provides services not available elsewhere in our area.

The majority of specialty groups in Eugene and Springfield have written letters in support of keeping Eugene Emergency Physicians. These voices should not be ignored. These doctors are our neighbors; they were our first line of defense during the pandemic; they are fighting for us. It is time we fight for them. We need them in our communities and in our hospitals.

To Eugene Emergency Physicians, our care goes beyond a profit margin. They have a vested interest in our community. PeaceHealth is a nonprofit organization that lauds itself as being a steward for the community it is meant to serve. They have an opportunity and obligation to live up to the mission and values they claim to be guided by.

Quena Keis
Eugene