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The children’s urgent care clinic is expected to be fully up and running Sept. 1 near Valley River Center in Eugene. PeaceHealth hopes it can expand access to care and also ease demand at the RiverBend ER.
PeaceHealth announced Wednesday, Aug. 13, the opening of a new urgent care clinic that will exclusively serve children.
Valley River Pediatric Priority Care at 1400 Valley River Drive, Suite 110, in Eugene is already accepting patients, newborn to 18 years old. The clinic will operate at a full scale – seven days a week, evenings, weekends and holidays – starting Sept. 1. It is a breakout from PeaceHealth’s three other pediatric primary care clinics and its other medical services for all ages.
“A lot of it is really just the approach to kind of bringing kids in and how you walk them through that whole visit, whether it be to have labs collected or an X-ray done,” said Serena Black, a pediatrician and PeaceHealth Medical Director for Children’s Services.
“All of our staff are really trained in kind of helping keep kids comfortable and minimizing anxiety through the visit,” she said.
The clinic also aims to provide care for conditions such as ear infections, broken bones and fevers that often send families to emergency rooms, where wait times have grown in recent years.
Since closing its University District emergency room, PeaceHealth’s Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend has seen a sharp rise in patient volumes.
In 2024, the average emergency department stay was nearly seven hours — more than an hour above the statewide average — according to the latest year of Oregon Health Authority data.
“We have a variety of ways to make this a quicker, more user-friendly experience than an emergency room,” Black said, noting an online scheduling portal, a phone line for appointments and walk-in availability.
However, children with life-threatening symptoms, such as chest pain or severe bleeding, should still go to the nearest emergency room or have a guardian call 911.
The children’s urgent care will cost less than emergency care and will be billed like a typical clinic visit, with no added fee, Black told Lookout Eugene-Springfield. She said no one will be turned away for inability to pay.
Preparing for fall respiratory illnesses
This opening of the urgent care will coincide with the first week of school for Eugene’s School District 4J and Springfield Public Schools.
“Kids go back to school and all of a sudden you see a lot of viral illnesses. Heading into the fall we get a lot of respiratory illnesses,” Black said.
While measles outbreaks slowed over the summer, 2025 has already seen more than 1,350 cases nationwide — the highest in over 30 years. Oregon has reported just one case this year, in Portland.
Public health leaders nationwide have warned about a possible measles resurgence with the start of the academic year. They say declining vaccination rates create conditions that could cause a surge in cases as school opens.
Lane County parents are seeking nonmedical vaccine exemptions at record-high levels, according to the Health Authority. These exemptions, granted for cultural, political or religious reasons, have left preschoolers most at risk, with vaccination rates at 90% — short of the 95% needed for herd immunity.
Local doctors, including those at Pediatrics at PeaceHealth RiverBend Pavilion, are preparing to see measles cases for the first time. They ask parents to call ahead if a child shows symptoms such as blotchy red rashes, high fevers and watery eyes.
“We will arrange to see them in a parking lot outside and do some testing, or bring them in through a back way to a room that has been shut down for the rest of the day,” Dr. Leslie R. Pelinka of PeaceHealth told Lookout Eugene-Springfield in June.
Pelinka and Black said advance notice, whether at a primary clinic or urgent care, helps keep the sick child and others safe, as measles is an airborne virus. If a child is having trouble breathing, call 911.
“We feel lucky so far to not have seen a significant cluster of measles in our community, and that with measles or chicken pox or any of the sort of highly infectious rash-like illnesses.” said Black. “Calling the clinic first gives them a heads-up, helps them be prepared, and it’s the best place to start.”
