QuickTake:

Oregon lawmakers are pushing  for answers as PeaceHealth looks to make changes in emergency medical care at the organization’s Lane County hospitals.

This story was first updated with a statement from PeaceHealth and later updated with comments from ApolloMD, a letter by U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle and another letter by state legislators and local elected officials.

Three Oregon legislators are asking PeaceHealth and ApolloMD to share additional details about their business arrangement to provide emergency medical care in Lane County.

The push comes amid rising fallout as PeaceHealth makes plans to end a 35-year contract with Eugene Emergency Physicians and install Atlanta-based ApolloMD at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in Springfield, and at Cottage Grove Community Medical Center.

This move has triggered widespread community questions about quality care under corporate medicine and private equity. ApolloMD is not a private equity company, and while financial databases list private equity investments tied to the company, spokespeople maintain it is not backed by private equity.

Forty-one medical professionals at Eugene Emergency Physicians have pledged not to work for ApolloMD for at least 90 days.

Medical staff at the hospital voted 345-25 in support of a statement that they have no confidence in the two executive leaders at PeaceHealth. They also voted that they supported a reversal of the switch to ApolloMD.

But leaders are standing by the decision to contract with ApolloMD, which will support a practice at RiverBend called Lane Emergency Physicians.

On the heels of the doctors’ vote, lawmakers are asking ApolloMD’s CEO, Dr. Yogin Patel, and PeaceHealth Oregon Chief Hospital Executive Dr. Jim McGovern for more details about the deal, pointing to a 2025 law passed by the Oregon Legislature. The law is intended to protect medical decision-making and care from corporate ownership structures that can interfere with the doctor-patient relationship.

“As you may know, the Oregon Legislature recently passed Senate Bill 951 to reinforce long-standing protections around the corporate practice of medicine,” says the letter, written by House Majority Leader Ben Bowman, D-Tigard, and state Reps. Lisa Fragala and Nancy Nathanson, both Democrats from Eugene. “We passed this law because Oregonians expect medical decisions to be made in the interest of patients and by clinicians exercising independent professional judgment, not by corporate ownership, which can allow non-clinical control over clinical practice and risk patient health.”

The letter, released Wednesday, does not accuse PeaceHealth or ApolloMD of wrongdoing. But the lawmakers did request that both organizations provide more information to ensure that they are complying with Oregon law.

“SB 951 was intended to prevent this corporate medicine and provide clarity for all participants in the health care system, including physician groups, hospitals, and management services organizations,” the letter said. “The goal is not to impede legitimate business operations, but to ensure that Oregon law is followed and that practice structures preserve clinical independence, transparent governance, and clear lines of responsibility.”

Kimberly Johnson, a spokesperson for ApolloMD, said the company will provide all the information requested.

“Our team is working through the request and are planning to respond to the Oregon House of Representatives,” Johnson said in an email to Lookout Eugene-Springfield.

Johnson added that Lane Emergency Physicians LLC, a “physician-owned entity,” will be the practice group contracted with PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center, PeaceHealth Cottage Grove Community Medical Center and PeaceHealth Peace Harbor Medical Center in Florence.

“ApolloMD Business Services, LLC will support the practice and serve as the management services organization, in compliance with SB 951,” Johnson said.

Jim Murez, a spokesperson for PeaceHealth, said the organization appreciates the role of local and state legislators.

“Between PeaceHealth and ApolloMD, we will provide answers to all of the questions asked and information sought in the letter,” Murez said in an email.

The lawmakers’ letter asks for more information “in light of ApolloMD’s expanding presence in Oregon,” saying the documentation is needed to “demonstrate that the Oregon physician entity or entities associated with ApolloMD’s operations are structured and managed in compliance with Oregon law.”

The information they are asking includes:

  • The ownership structure of Lane Emergency Physicians LLC, including names and medical license numbers of the physician owners.
  • The governance structure of Lane Emergency Physicians LLC, including the process for appointment and removal of managers, members, officers or directors. 
  • The ownership and governance structure of any other corporate entities involved in the PeaceHealth RiverBend contract, including parent organizations and subsidiaries. 
  • The management services agreement between ApolloMD, Lane Emergency Physicians LLC and any other corporate entities tied to the PeaceHealth RiverBend contract.
  • Any agreements that define which entities or people have the decision-making authority over Lane Emergency Physicians LLC, including physician staffing, scheduling, compensation and billing.

“This request is not a conclusion that any violation has occurred. Rather, it is a request for transparency so that we can assure Oregonians of compliance and avoid unnecessary uncertainty as SB 951 is implemented,” the letter said.

The three authors are among the 12 chief sponsors of Senate Bill 951 when lawmakers passed it in 2025.

Other elected officials push for details 

U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle also reached out to PeaceHealth, encouraging the organization to reconsider its path. In a letter to Sarah Ness — PeaceHealth’s Vancouver, Washington-based president and chief executive officer — Hoyle said she has “deep concern” about PeaceHealth’s decision to end its long relationship with Eugene Emergency Physicians. 

“I urge you to immediately reconsider this action and at the very least delay moving forward with this contract to provide transparency,” Hoyle wrote in the Feb. 25 letter. 

Hoyle encouraged PeaceHealth to engage in “meaningful dialogue” with Eugene Emergency Physicians and others in the community before making a final decision.

Hoyle said: “EEP provides our community with experienced emergency practitioners who have built deep relationships with patients, nurses and hospital staff. They understand the operational realities of RiverBend. Your suggestion that this transition is necessary to secure ‘experienced’ clinicians overlooks that record and diminishes the expertise which already exists within your walls. This knowledge cannot be replaced overnight by a corporate contract with an out-of-state leadership team.”

In a separate letter sent Wednesday to PeaceHealth executives, nine elected officials urged the company to reconsider and expressed concern about the impact of the change on the strained health care system if seasoned emergency department physicians depart.

“Our community’s priority is greater than corporate management groups trying to maximize financial performance like ApolloMD. Our community has been built on quality, continuity, and trust,” the letter said. “Decisions of this magnitude must be evaluated not only through an operational lens, but through the long-term health and stability of the region you serve. As a nonprofit Catholic healthcare system, PeaceHealth should be making decisions through the lens of community service, not the maximization of profits.”

The letter was signed by Fragala, state House Speaker Julie Fahey, state Sens. James Manning and Floyd Prozanski, Eugene Mayor Kaarin Knudson, Springfield Mayor Sean VanGordon, Lane County Commissioners Heather Buch and Laurie Trieger, and Springfield City Councilor Kori Rodley.

Nurses plan no-confidence vote

As lawmakers wait for answers, nurses at RiverBend this week are holding a vote of no-confidence in the organization’s executive leadership.

The vote will end early next week at the latest, the Oregon Nurses Association said in an email. ONA represents more than 1,600 nurses at PeaceHealth.

“ONA nurses have repeatedly raised serious concerns about closures, chronic staffing issues, impacts on patient care, and PeaceHealth’s shift toward a more corporate, profit-driven model,” the nurses association said in a statement.

Correspondent Ashli Blow contributed to this report.

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Ben Botkin covers politics and policy in Lane County. He has worked as a journalist since 2003, most recently at the Oregon Capital Chronicle, where he covered justice, health and human services and documented regional efforts to combat fentanyl addiction. Botkin has worked in statehouses in Idaho, Nevada, Oklahoma and, of course, Oregon. When he's not working, you'll find him road tripping across the West, hiking or surfing along the Oregon Coast.