PeaceHealth said it was committed to moving forward with a transition to an out of state staffing group to manage its Lane County emergency rooms.
That comes after Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek’s request this week to reconsider and delay its plans, citing fears about patient safety, emergency preparedness and regulators work to ensure the deal complies with state law.
In a letter to Kotek, PeaceHealth Oregon Chief Hospital Executive Jim McGovern said waiting to transition to ApolloMD would be unsafe for patients and would create even more uncertainty.
“We believe the most effective way to address that concern is not delay, but transparency paired with accountability,” McGovern said. “Maintaining the transition timeline while openly measuring and reporting readiness metrics provides stronger protection for patients than postponement.”
McGovern disputed accusations that the process was rushed and argued ApolloMD, and the entity it created to staff Lane County’s ERs, are physician-owned and have no links to private equity.
Lawmakers and Kotek have raised concerns about the company’s ownership structure. A group that included five Eugene-area lawmakers asked PeaceHealth, Apollo MD and Lane Emergency Physicians, the company created to staff PeaceHealth’s local emergency rooms, to voluntarily submit to an Oregon Health Authority review.
Meanwhile, Eugene Emergency Physicians, the current ER provider, has sued PeaceHealth, arguing the new arrangement runs afoul of state law. The lawsuit, first reported by Lookout Eugene Springfield, alleges ApolloMD and PeaceHealth violated the state’s healthcare ownership law.
In his letter to Kotek, McGovern said ApolloMD had already invested heavily in recruitment and was confident it would be able to safely staff ERs. He said the group may need to hire temporary physicians for the transition, but all providers working will be qualified.
“The physicians of Lane Emergency Physicians will live in our communities,” McGovern wrote. “Some temporary physician staffing will be used, particularly at the beginning of the transition, which is a safe and established practice. All
physicians, permanent or temporary, must meet the same rigorous medical staff standards for clinical quality, competence and patient safety that the EEP physicians are required to meet today.”
He also promised to improve transparency by launching a dashboard showing how many physicians are moving through the credentialed process. In addition to promising to provide emergency room metrics publicly, McGovern also shared the criteria PeaceHealth used to choose ApolloMD.
“I should have communicated more clearly about the rationale for this change,” McGovern wrote. “The criteria used to select a new partner and what the decision would mean for the day-to-day operations of our hospitals. I am committed to more direct and consistent engagement as we move forward.”
