Save Eugene's Hospital Town Hall, Friday, Sept. 15 (Photo) -09/14/23

SAVE EUGENE’S HOSPITAL TOWN HALL
Friday, September 15, 2023
3 - 5 p.m.
IAFF Union Hall
160 Madison St.
Eugene, OR

MEDIA ARE INVITED TO ATTEND.

(EUGENE, Ore.) -  Local emergency responders, health care workers, patients, seniors, students, and residents are leading a community town hall on PeaceHealth’s decision to close PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center University District and the negative impact it will have on Eugene workers, patients, families and vulnerable populations. 

Community members are invited to hear directly from first responders, health care workers, and patients; share concerns; get questions answered based on the limited information PeaceHealth has shared; and find out how you can help keep health care local and save Eugene's only hospital. 

Scheduled speakers include representatives from: 

• Lane Professional Firefighters IAFF-851
• CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out on the Streets)/Teamsters Local 206
• The Oregon Nurses Association (ONA)
• AFSCME retirees
• NAACP
• Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation (GTFF) at the University of Oregon
• HealthCare for All Oregon (HCAO)

Speaker schedule is subject to change. Local elected leaders are also expected to attend. 

In just a few days, more than 2,000 Oregonians have signed a petition asking the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and state leaders to do everything in their power to prevent PeaceHealth from closing University District, protect Lane County residents and save Eugene’s hospital. 

Local frontline health care workers, city and county elected officials, union leaders, students and community advocates held a press conference Monday, Sept. 11 urging PeaceHealth to reverse its decision to close Eugene’s only hospital and calling on the state to protect Oregonians’ access to local health care. 

Speakers addressed the wide-ranging impacts closing University District will have on the community–particularly our most vulnerable residents–leading to worse care, longer waits, and slower emergency responses for everyone in Eugene.

“Make no mistake. The costs of this decision are high. Eugene Springfield Emergency and Rescue make approximately 4,500 trips to the emergency room every year. Consider the impact to our response time and cost. Our estimates are that every round trip transport will increase by 27 minutes. Think about what that means to people in West Eugene who have a heart attack or a house fire or another life-threatening crisis. Lives will be lost,” said Eugene Mayor Lucy Vinis.

“This closure will decrease access and degrade health care in our community and we should all be very concerned,” said Lane County Commissioner Laurie Trieger. “A decision of this magnitude was not done in partnership at all. It was dropped on this community with no time to consider how best to mitigate and prepare for the loss, no time to plan for a thoughtful off ramp for services, no time to seek new allies or collaborators to help fill service gaps and plan for the future.”

“By PeaceHealth’s own admission, the closure of University District is being fueled by financial considerations, not community ones. PeaceHealth should honor its promise to the Eugene community by not closing this essential—and only—emergency service facility in the city. We expect more from a mission-driven, nonprofit organization,” said SEIU 49 leader Lorie Quinn, an environmental services worker at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center Riverbend. 

“Everyday I see patients come into the ER desperate for our help. Often, they have nowhere else to turn. They are counting on me and the other people you see standing here. We are not going to let them down. We won’t let PeaceHealth abandon our community and endanger our families’ and patients’ health and safety,” said ONA leader Kevyn Paul, a charge nurse at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center University District. “It’s time PeaceHealth does the right thing for our community. Today, we call upon PeaceHealth executives, the Oregon Health Authority and state leaders to reverse this disastrous decision and save Eugene’s hospital.”

BACKGROUND: On Aug. 22, PeaceHealth executives in Vancouver notified our community that they planned to close Eugene’s only hospital–PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center University District–this fall.  

This dangerous and irresponsible decision would leave nearly 200,000 people in Oregon’s second largest city without a hospital. 

Losing our only hospital is a clear and present danger to the entire Eugene community—particularly our most vulnerable residents. PeaceHealth is gambling with our families’ long-term health and safety and putting profits ahead of people.

Local elected officials, frontline health care workers, unions, allies and residents are calling upon PeaceHealth to reconsider this disastrous decision and asking the Oregon Health Authority and state leaders to do everything in their power to save lives and keep Eugene’s only hospital open.

• Learn more at www.SaveEugenesHospital.com.

The Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) is the state’s largest and most influential nursing organization. We are a professional association and labor union which represents more than 16,000 nurses and allied health workers throughout Oregon. ONA’s mission is to advocate for nursing, quality health care and healthy communities. For more information visit: www.OregonRN.org.

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