Across the river, in Springfield, to the emergency room we go | Ethos

On December 1, 2023, the PeaceHealth University District Emergency Department shut down. The tan, reflective complex that dwarfs much of 13th Avenue is now empty except for the behavioral health unit, which will remain open. There is no longer a hospital in Eugene, Oregon.

PeaceHealth announced the University District would close in August 2023. In a statement from Mayor Lucy Vinis, she revealed that the City of Eugene “was not consulted prior to” the announcement. Regarding the shutdown, Vinis wrote: “This is another terrible message that our healthcare system is broken. »

With a population of about 175,000, Eugene now has to send people in need of medical care to Springfield. Health care options in Springfield include PeaceHealth Sacred Heart RiverBend Medical Center, where most people should go, and McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center. What’s between the University District and RiverBend? The Willamette River, access issues and 5.8 miles that in an emergency could cost lives.

To get from the University District to RiverBend by car, you must take a bridge over the Willamette, merge onto Interstate 105, turn onto Pioneer Parkway and finally onto Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway. Only then will you approach a tree-lined road leading to a hospital promising better care and expected wait times of 12 to 14 hours, a figure relayed by CAHOOTS responders via their specialist of Keaton Sunchild Communications.

On October 13, nurses and community members staged a “Die-In” protest outside the gates of the University District. About 75 protesters — some covered in trash bags resembling body bags — lay on the ground for 15 minutes, the time it would take an ambulance to reach RiverBend. As protesters were scattered across the sidewalk, speakers took turns expressing their feelings about the closure. Their voices mingled with the passing cars honking in support.

While RiverBend opened in 2008, the University District began as Pacific Christian Hospital in 1924. Since then, the hospital has changed leadership and ministries; expanded some buildings while destroying others; and clear paths where students can be seen heading to class with backpacks, guitar cases and lacrosse bags slung over their shoulders.

Kevyn Paul started at the University District as a receptionist in 1988, where she remembers the community being close-knit and like a family. Today, as an emergency room nurse and executive member of the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA), she faces the loss of this part of her life. Looking back on her past 35 years working at the University District, she says, “It’s my second home. »

Since November 14, emergency room nurses like Paul have been applying for jobs when they transfer to RiverBend. Nurses in the inpatient medical cohort had recently been laid off, but they were included in the bidding process to create completely new positions at RiverBend. “(The bidding process) is complicated, and there are a lot of rules and anxiety around it,” Paul says. “People don’t know if they’ll get the same type of job they’ve had for the last five years that fits their life. You know how life can revolve around work.

Closing the University District disrupts the rhythm and routine of all the workers who make it work. Throughout our interview, some of Paul’s attention was understandably focused on auction updates coming from his Microsoft teams. Most University District staff members chose to transfer to RiverBend or another PeaceHealth site, according to Alicia Beymer, administrative director of the University District and RiverBend.

“It’s certainly a very complex transition. Part of it is financial,” explains Beymer. PeaceHealth says the University District was losing $2 million a month as the number of emergency room patients declined. At the same time, RiverBend has been described as one of the most profitable hospitals in the United States, according to KEZI.

“PeaceHealth’s mission is to provide health care to people in need, not to have the most cost-effective hospitals,” says Kevin Mealy, ONA communications director. “I think if the goal was to serve the greatest number of people in need, they would expand services to the University District, instead of expanding them to wealthier hospitals.”

Working at the University District for the past 35 years, Paul has seen first-hand the ER regulars and how their income compares to those who visit RiverBend. “We often call ourselves the Mission Hospital because we carry out the PeaceHealth mission. We see a disproportionate number of people who are uninsured or underinsured,” she says.

Another community that the University District has historically served is people experiencing mental health crises. With the emergency room closing, the University District is devoting all of its mental health resources to the Behavioral Health Unit –– which was expanded in 2014. The unit will remain open for the foreseeable future and PeaceHealth also plans to build a new center rehabilitation. .

“I think we’re not a traditional hospital anymore since RiverBend opened,” Beymer said. “Starting in 2008, when we kept the University District open, it was really so we could keep behavioral health services and inpatient rehabilitation. We also found other ways to achieve this.

Services like CAHOOTS also cater to mental health. CAHOOTS relied on University District emergency rooms to help people experiencing mental health crises, drug overdoses or suicidal thoughts. Many CAHOOTS jobs involve transportation to psychological evaluation centers and drug or alcohol treatment centers – but in most cases – to hospitals.

“We take people to RiverBend in Springfield; that’s a lot of extra driving. Sometimes for people, every minute counts…And then they get to RiverBend, and a crowded waiting room is a stressor in itself,” says Sunchild. The University District’s waiting room once served as a place where people gathered and recuperated, according to Sunchild. This is no longer an option.

In a statement on the closure, PeaceHealth said it is working “with careful discernment on the next best steps for (the Eugene community).”

The city of Eugene can be described in different ways. Some believe it is “one of the most livable communities in America.” For others, it’s a university town painted yellow and green. Others may remember that in 2019, Eugene had the highest rate of unhoused people per capita of any major city in America. No matter how you look at it, Oregon’s second-most populous city doesn’t have a hospital.

If they need to go to urgent care, community members can go to PeaceHealth’s recently opened location on Hilyard or BestMed Urgent Care. University of Oregon Student Health Services welcomes students to campus weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For emergencies, Springfield offers PeaceHealth RiverBend or McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center and an emergency department in Cottage Grove.