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PeaceHealth To Close 5 Clinics, Cut 69 Jobs

Vancouver, Wash.-based PeaceHealth is permanently closing five clinics and services, KLCC reported May 24.

Hospital officials said PeaceHealth will close its pediatric cardiology clinic, sleep clinic, optometry clinic and optical shop on July 21. It's also ending its comprehensive outpatient palliative care May 26 and reducing staff to one nurse and one social worker for in-home care.

Officials told KLCC that "69 positions have been eliminated in the PeaceHealth Oregon network."

Medical staff at PeaceHealth Medical Center, which runs the cardiology clinic in Springfield, Ore., were given a 90-day notice to transition care of about 200 children and teens with heart conditions. Since April 21, when they first received word of the closure, staff have been helping parents find alternative care, but few other practices exist. 

"There's no other pediatric cardiology clinic either in Lane County or even the surrounding counties like Douglas or Coos or Linn-Benton," pediatric cardiologist Misty Carlson, MD, told KLCC. "We're really the only pediatric cardiologists that serve that area. So, if any of our patients need care, because we're not here, they're probably most likely gonna travel to Portland."

PeaceHealth is "actively responding to challenges faced by healthcare organizations across the United States," a statement shared with KLCC said. "As always, we are also adjusting operations and services to reflect changes in our communities and ensure we are being responsible to our healing Mission into the future."

PeaceHealth Closing Clinics And Beds As ONA Calls For More Support

Hospital beds closing and staff being let go. Those are the concerns being raised by the Oregon Nurses Association at both PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Centers in Eugene and Springfield.

ONA claims nearly 20% of beds have been closed between the Riverbend and University District locations.

A PeaceHealth spokesperson didn't confirm that number but did confirm beds are being closed and the number will fluctuate depending on staffing.

"PeaceHealth will temporarily close a number of beds at Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend and Sacred Heart Medical Center, University District," PeaceHealth said in a statement. "PeaceHealth's plans are constantly evolving and the number of temporarily closed beds will fluctuate daily depending on staffing and patient census. It has yet to be determined whether the temporarily closed beds will be on one floor—or unit—or in multiple areas at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend."

Caption: KMTR

This comes just weeks after nurses held a rally outside Riverbend over staffing shortages and what they say is a lack of support for frontline healthcare workers. That rally was in anticipation of contract negotiations between ONA and PeaceHealth which have been ongoing since contracts expired on April 15. ONA says PeaceHealth has nearly 300 nurse vacancies, which has affected response times and patient care.

Kevin Mealy, the communications manager for Oregon Nurses Association said, "PeaceHealth made it very clear to nurses when it closed off beds and cut travel nurse contracts, that this was a move it was making in order to save money and make more money. So, it wasn't because these beds weren't needed, it wasn't because these nurses weren't needed; PeaceHealth chose to build up its bank account instead of choosing to provide more and higher quality care for the community and that is what nurses are most concerned about with this decision."

PeaceHealth confirmed positions have been eliminated along with the closure of local clinics, saying, "Specifically, 69 positions have been eliminated in our Oregon network, and the sleep clinic in Springfield, the pediatric cardiology clinic in Springfield, and the optometry clinic and the optical shop in Eugene will no longer offer services as of July 21, 2023. We are notifying patients and will help them find alternatives for care where available. Where possible, we are working to match qualified caregivers with the nearly 1,300 open clinical roles across PeaceHealth."

PeaceHealth says they've hired 52 registered nurses since February and are recruiting through partnerships with Lane Community College and Bushnell University.

PeaceHealth Gets Pushback For Palliative Care Cuts

Vancouver, Wash.-based PeaceHealth is ending comprehensive outpatient palliative care May 26 and reducing staff to one nurse and one social worker for in-home care, Cascadia Daily reported May 16.

Criticism of the decision has been intense, with some patients saying the closure goes against the hospital's mission. Other critics say PeaceHealth broke its promise to donors who gave more than $2 million to launch the program years ago.

Bryan Stewart, system vice president for the home and community division, said in a May 16 statement that the program wasn't financially feasible. He confirmed PeaceHealth had made a promise, but with a caveat.

"The Foundation was clear with donors at the onset that PeaceHealth's commitment was to support the palliative care program beyond the five-year Foundation investment, understanding that as the program evolved over time, operational changes might be necessary," Mr. Stewart said. "Unfortunately, the stress caused by the pandemic on our healthcare system, coupled with under-reimbursement, high program expenses and relatively low number of patients served, led to the recently announced changes."

Retired PeaceHealth physician Meg Jacobson, MD, acknowledged that palliative care places a financial burden on healthcare systems because of the few patients they see. Hospitals also can't bill for the services of social workers or chaplains, she added.

PeaceHealth also decided to close its allergy clinic and overnight sleep lab, the report said.

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