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The vote, organized by the Oregon Nurses Association, follows a similar action by the hospital’s medical staff amid fallout over PeaceHealth’s decision to replace a longtime local emergency physician group.
Hundreds of nurses at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend voted that they do not have confidence in the leadership of two hospital executives: PeaceHealth Oregon Chief Hospital Executive Jim McGovern and Oregon Chief Medical Officer Kim Ruscher.
The Oregon Nurses Association organized an electronic vote for the 1,600 registered nurses at RiverBend that it represents. A majority participated, with 93% voting “no confidence,” according to results Monday, March 2.
The nurses’ vote follows a similar statement of “no confidence” from RiverBend’s medical staff, who voted 345-25 last week against McGovern and Ruscher.
The two elections come after weeks of rapid fallout from PeaceHealth’s decision to end its 35-year contract with locally based Eugene Emergency Physicians on June 30 and switch to Atlanta-based ApolloMD to staff the emergency department beginning July 1.
No-confidence votes are formal motions that express approval or disapproval of leaders but do not remove them from their positions or reverse any decisions.
“Frontline nurses are frustrated and alarmed by PeaceHealth’s repeated cuts, closures and outsourcing attempts,” said Chris Rompala, executive chair of the Oregon Nurses Association and a nurse at RiverBend, who has interviewed with Lookout Eugene Springfield about how closely he and other nurses work with Eugene Emergency Physicians.
“PeaceHealth executives are leading our community’s care in the wrong direction,” Rompala said in a statement Monday. “Nurses are standing together to demand accountability and a renewed commitment to safe, local, patient-centered health care.”
PeaceHealth leadership has been unwavering in its decision despite staff pushback, community outcry and criticism from elected officials. In an interview with Lookout on Friday, McGovern was asked about the nursing e-vote while it was still open.
“It’s like the medical staff vote of no confidence. It hurts,” he said. “I’ve been here for seven years. I think I’ve done good work with the care that we’ve delivered here and through the community. And I understand that this is a difficult decision that many people disagree with, but my responsibility is to look for long-term health and the best functioning emergency departments that we can possibly have.”
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