Medical staff leaders at PeaceHealth RiverBend finalized ballots Tuesday in a vote of no confidence in hospital leadership, three weeks after administrators announced plans to switch emergency medicine providers.
Earlier this month, PeaceHealth Oregon Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kim Ruscher said the hospital would allow its contracts with Eugene Emergency Physicians to expire at Cottage Grove and RiverBend and would instead move forward with ApolloMD to staff its emergency departments.
The decision affects 41 employees — including 32 physicians and nine physician assistants — who will lose their jobs when the contract ends. PeaceHealth said it hopes those employees could return under ApolloMD.
All 41 employees signed a pledge stating they would not return for up to 90 days after the contract expires.
RiverBend’s medical staff held a special meeting on Feb. 18 after more than 25 percent of staff members signed a petition requesting it. During that meeting, leaders introduced several ballot measures and later placed them on an official ballot in a four-day confidential electronic vote that concluded Monday night.
Medical staff leaders certified the ballots and released the results Tuesday morning.
A majority — 93 percent — voted no confidence in Chief Hospital Executive Dr. Jim McGovern and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kim Ruscher.
Out of 367 votes cast, all but four supported returning to Eugene Emergency Physicians.
Dr. William Emerson, Chief of Staff at RiverBend, spoke about how medical staff are responding to the vote.
Dr. Emerson – “What I can say about the medical staff is that we have a wonderful engaged dedicated medical staff, and I think that right now there are grave concerns amongst the medical staff about what these changes will mean to the functioning of the hospital and overall to the care that we’re able to deliver to our community.”
Gold – “What have you been hearing specifically?”
Dr. Emerson – “I think there’s a number of concerns. There are concerns related to the process by which this decision was made. There are concerns related to a lack of transparency. There are concerns related to people feeling that they’re input and opinions were not valued during this decision-making process. There is a concern amongst the medical staff that it will not be possible to replace the highly qualified group of physicians and APC’s that currently staff our emergency department.”
Gold – “Why does medical staff feel there’s a lack of transparency?”
Dr. Emerson – “There was essentially no flow of information between administration who was making the decision and the medical staff. There were numerous letters of support for Eugene emergency physicians.”
Gold – “Is it possible or any validity to what PeaceHealth is saying that this move is in an effort to improve care and that that was needed?”
Dr. Emerson – “I think that the medical staff feels that a homegrown group of emergency physicians and APCs who has been in this community for 35 years, has physicians who were born here, have lived here, raised families here and are ingrained in the community, cannot be easily replaced. And from our experience working at other hospitals as a medical staff. There is a widespread belief that national staffing agencies do not lead to improved quality of care and certainly would not be an improvement over our current emergency medicine services provider”
Gold – “90-some percent of medical staff voted no confidence and then even more voted to reverse this decision with Apollo MD to go back to EEP or Eugene Emergency Physicians. What could that vote accomplish?”
Dr. Emerson – “I think the important thing to realize is that this is not a personal issue. It’s not a personal issue between the medical staff and administration or anybody on administration. This is really a statement, I believe, by the medical staff regarding the quality of our emergency medicine physicians and clinicians and the grave concerns about what this will mean to lose this entire group of physicians and clinicians and have them replaced with kind of an unknown entity.”
Voters view the results as largely symbolic, but leaders will now elevate them to PeaceHealth leadership, Emerson said.
The Oregon Nurses Association is conducting a similar vote among RiverBend nurses.
PeaceHealth Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Richard DeCarlo released the following statement:
The expertise physicians bring is deeply respected, and the concerns they raise are seen. Our focus remains on maintaining open, constructive dialogue to address concerns directly and provide clarity on our decision. PeaceHealth supports the final decision recommended by the Oregon leadership team, including Dr. McGovern and Dr. Ruscher, to transition emergency department physician management services to ApolloMD. We are committed to the long-term strength and stability required to deliver our Mission, ensuring high-quality care for our communities. We will continue to communicate with transparency and respect throughout this transition.
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