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After PeaceHealth earlier this year announced a new contract with an Atlanta company for emergency department services, Oregon officials urged the health care network to reconsider.
Gov. Tina Kotek and Oregon House Speaker Julie Fahey met with PeaceHealth administrators in a call last week to talk about the provider’s plans to transition to a new out-of-state company to provide emergency department services at Lane County hospitals.
By then, the governor and Fahey, an influential Democratic lawmaker from Eugene, had already pushed hard for PeaceHealth to reconsider its plans to end its decades-long relationship with Eugene Emergency Physicians in favor of Georgia-based ApolloMD and its new affiliated group, Lane Emergency Physicians.
At that April 29 meeting, the two officials asked PeaceHealth’s CEO, Sarah Ness, to make “tangible progress,” by Friday, May 8, the governor’s office said. The officials also laid out concerns about the lack of transparency around the decision and the risk of inadequate emergency department staffing at Lane County hospitals. They asked, once again, for PeaceHealth to reverse its decision and avoid additional disruptions to the region’s frayed health care system.
This time, it appears, PeaceHealth administrators listened. That request — combined with months of active public engagement from local physicians and other community leaders — played a role in the Vancouver-based nonprofit’s decision to continue its relationship with 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,” Kotek said in a Wednesday, May 6, statement. “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.”
But PeaceHealth’s reversal only came after widespread scrutiny, relentless questions, weeks of meetings, the involvement of a federal judge and pressure from elected officials, the local medical community and other leaders.
Amid a public outcry, PeaceHealth’s pending change, which was set to start this summer, represented more than a shift in business strategy. Instead, the deal came to represent what state lawmakers have long fought against — corporate changes that can come between patients and doctors and put outside parties in charge of those decisions.
From the start, there were plenty of questions, enough for Eugene Emergency Physicians to take PeaceHealth to court for a ruling on whether the deal skirted Oregon’s new corporate medicine law, Senate Bill 951. And the decision prompted enough questions for 42 clinicians with Eugene Emergency Physicians to sign a promise to not work for ApolloMD for at least 90 days.
Against this backdrop, Kotek, Fahey, other state legislators, U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle and others stepped in, pushing at different points for PeaceHealth to reconsider, slow or stop its planned change to a new emergency services company that would have provided medical staffing at hospitals in Springfield, Cottage Grove and Florence.
They wrote letters, issued sharply worded statements and, perhaps most importantly, met behind the scenes with PeaceHealth administrators even with the planned transition dates in June and July for Lane County hospitals rapidly approaching.
Nearly two months ago, on March 11, Kotek met with PeaceHealth executives to express concerns. A week later, on March 18, Kotek sent a letter asking PeaceHealth to delay and reconsider its decision. Since then, Kotek has been monitoring developments through the Oregon Health Authority and weekly reports from the Oregon Medical Board, which licenses physicians.
Fahey, in a statement Wednesday, said: “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. …
“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.”
Ness, PeaceHealth’s CEO, called the change the “right decision.”
“We believe this reset is the right decision for the community,” Ness said in a joint statement with Kotek and Fahey. “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.”
Other lawmakers weigh in
Other state lawmakers praised the development. House Majority Leader Ben Bowman, a Tigard Democrat who played a key role in Senate Bill 951, called the decision a “watershed moment for our state.”
“This is a victory for Oregon, for Eugene Emergency Physicians, and for patients,” Bowman said in a statement. “We will continue to lead in the fight to keep doctors and patients in control — not corporations and private equity firms.”
Other legislators from Lane County also welcomed Peacehealth’s announcement.
“This decision stops the potential disruption for patients, as well as for the doctors and their families. I am hopeful for continued productive discussions that prioritize improving patient experience, wait times, and quality of care at the emergency department,” said Rep. Nancy Nathanson, D-North Eugene.
Rep. Lisa Fragala, D-Eugene, said continuing with Eugene Emergency Providers’ contract is “essential to stabilizing and strengthening emergency services at the hospital.”
“This outcome is a victory for our community and for a healthcare system that puts providers and patients first, not corporate profits,” Fragala said.
Sen. James Manning Jr., D-Eugene, reacted on Facebook: “A huge win for our local emergency physicians and the entire community.”
Rep. John Lively, D-Springfield, represents the district that includes PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend.
“Renewing their contract is the right decision,” Lively said. “Thanks to all who worked hard and advocated to make this happen.”
Nurses union: ‘Executives were forced to back down’
Pressure also came from within PeaceHealth, including the health care workers on the frontlines of emergency medicine.
“Today’s announcement is a historic victory for all Oregonians,” the Oregon Nurses Association, which represents PeaceHealth nurses, said in a statement. “PeaceHealth’s decision to reverse course is not an act of leadership, it is a retreat. Health executives were forced to back down thanks to lawsuits, pressure from elected leaders, and an unprecedented show of solidarity from thousands of nurses, doctors, caregivers, and community members who stood together to hold PeaceHealth accountable and stop out-of-state corporations from controlling our care.”
In an internal email to staff, Heather Wall, PeaceHealth’s Oregon interim chief executive, said she has spent “many hours” with staffers, caregivers, physicians and community members “with a focus on better listening and better understanding.”
“We recognize that many of you have raised concerns; we have heard clearly that those concerns were not fully addressed, and we are taking that seriously as we move forward,” Wall said.
