Community Voices Weekly: More angst over RiverBend

Welcome to another edition of Community Voices Weekly, Lookout’s newsletter all about what’s on the minds of Lane County residents.

Last week, I led off with the ongoing saga of PeaceHealth’s decision to end its emergency department staffing contract with Eugene Emergency Physicians at Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend, in favor of Atlanta-based ApolloMD.

Well, here we are again, with readers, elected officials and our own editorial board weighing in about PeaceHealth’s controversial decision. I count nine letters to the editor or guest columns in my mailbag on the topic since the Feb. 3 announcement. Two guest columns — one by PeaceHealth Oregon Chief Hospital Executive Jim McGovern and one by ApolloMD CEO Yogin Patel — touted the decision as the right move for RiverBend’s overburdened emergency department.

The other seven op-eds? Yeah, not so much.

This past week, Eugene letter writer Carol Ipsen called PeaceHealth’s decision not to renew its contract with Eugene Emergency Physicians “capitalism at its worst.”

In a guest column, University of Oregon student Isabella Barillas mentioned the change in the context of larger challenges to medical systems, both at hospitals like RiverBend and to emergency responders across Oregon.

Springfield City Councilor Kori Rodley added her own thoughts in a guest column. The decision by PeaceHealth leadership is causing her “great concern for patients, physicians, nurses, Emergency Medical Service providers and other community partners.” She urges PeaceHealth to come back to the table and negotiate with the local emergency department group “to put patient and community needs before profit.”

The Lookout editorial board wasn’t about to keep silent on this issue. We called on PeaceHealth leaders to, at the very least, give the public a clearer explanation of why they feel ApolloMD will do a better job staffing the emergency department than Eugene Emergency Physicians.

Attendees watch Lane County Commission Chair David Loveall speak in a film clip about county challenges before Loveall gives his State of the County address Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. — Attendees watch David Loveall, chair of the Lane County Board of Commissioners, speak in a film before Loveall gave his State of the County address Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. Credit: Ben Botkin / Lookout Eugene-Springfield

Prayer in the public square?

If you pay attention to local politics, you’ve probably heard the name David Loveall. He’s the Lane County commissioner representing the Springfield area. And he’s a bit polarizing, to put it mildly. He’s drawn headlines for behavior that has generated HR complaints, retaliation claims and settlements.

He’s also known not to shy away from discussing his Christian faith, including at county meetings. That led Eugene letter writer David Radtke to implore commissioners to remember the separation of church and state. But the recent release of a county investigation into Loveall’s behavior, and last week’s vote by fellow commissioners to censure him, brought the prayer issue roaring back to life.

To Springfield letter writer Paul Metzler, the treatment of Loveall for expressing his Christian views feels like “an effort to publicly shame someone for their beliefs,” and he’ll continue to stand by the commissioner. But Will McNaught of Eugene responded in a letter wondering if Metzler would feel the same way about a Jewish, Muslim or Buddhist commissioner leading a prayer. And Eugene resident Dorothy Crafts took a more, well, Confucian view of the issue — with so many religions in the world, she argued, why not leave them all out of public meetings?

Endorsement season is upon us

OK, I’m cheating a bit here, as these letters came in more than a week ago. But with the candidate filing deadline just two days out for anyone dreaming of elected office, let’s give a shoutout to our first political endorsers.

Eugene letter writer Adrianne Potwora is grateful Jake Pelroy is challenging Heather Buch for her seat on the Board of Lane County Commissioners, arguing he’ll be a better steward of local tax dollars. Sherry Cantu of Eugene agreed, writing in a letter that voters in her district want change.

Not so fast, countered Oakridge letter writer Marietta Thompson, who argued that Buch has stood with Oakridge residents fighting a proposed quarry on TV Butte just east of town. And Springfield letter writer Cindy Morgan praised her work supporting health care access for rural county residents.

Want to make your voice heard by endorsing a candidate? See how here.

The business of health care

“Hospital employment of physicians hasn’t always been the norm.”

Does this 40-minute episode of a podcast with an extremely literal name — The Business of Healthcare (available on Apple and Spotify podcasts) — pack the intrigue of a true crime thriller?

No.

But it’s an interesting, if a bit policy wonkish, dive into the changing nature of physician employment within hospitals, the mindset of health systems like PeaceHealth that struggle with uncompensated medical costs and the opportunities that poses for companies like ApolloMD.

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