An emergency meeting of Sacred Heart medical staff was held Wednesday night—where an informal vote of no confidence in PeaceHealth leadership was unanimous.
The meeting was prompted by hundreds of emails to Chief of Staff Dr. Will Emerson regarding concerns about PeaceHealth's decision to replace a locally based provider group, Eugene Emergency Physicians, with ApolloMD, a Georgia-based staffing company.
More than 200 medical staff members, including hospitalists, emergency doctors, physician assistants and nurse practitioners were present, with several hundred more online, according to Eugene Emergency Physicians spokesperson, Dr. Scott Williams.
Williams said three key results emerged during the meeting. The first was call for a vote of “No Confidence” in the leadership of PeaceHealth Oregon’s top executives, Chief Hospital Executive James McGovern and Oregon Chief Medical Officer Kim Ruscher.
“The second was a request for Eugene Emergency Physicians to staff all PeaceHealth-owned emergency departments in Oregon,” Williams stated. “And the third was an amendment to the medical staff bylaws requiring medical staff input on all professional services contracts.”
Williams said an informal show of hands indicated unanimous agreement of all three motions.
The formal vote of 600 plus medical staff is currently underway. On Feb. 19, Emerson sent an email link for voting as governed by the bylaws of the medical staff.
Williams said the official voting process could take days to complete. He noted the medical staff and EEP are in unfamiliar territory right now. “I don’t recall this ever happening in my 22 years with PeaceHealth,” Williams said.
What happens when the votes are tallied?
“The Chief of Staff, Dr. Will Emerson, will distribute the vote's outcome to the medical staff and administration,” Williams said.
A vote of no confidence is a symbolic vote indicating that a person or group in a position of responsibility is no longer deemed fit to hold their position.
“The medical staff believes the change from Eugene Emergency Physicians to ApolloMD was unnecessary," Williams said, "and staff felt excluded from the decision-making process, leading to a real sense of outrage."
Williams said he hopes the vote by his entire medical staff will be noted by system leadership, which encompasses PeaceHealth for Oregon, Washington, and Alaska.
The emergency meeting was held Wednesday evening, at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend. No hospital administration was in attendance, Williams said.
PeaceHealth told KLCC it will reserve comment until it’s been officially notified of the result.
