PeaceHealth announced Thursday that Dr. Jim McGovern has been relieved of his duties and is no longer serving as chief executive for the Oregon region, effective immediately. It's the latest in a busy year for the health care organization that operates three Lane County hospitals. Here's a timeline of key events:
- Feb. 4, 2026- PeaceHealth Oregon announced it is ending its 35-year long partnership with Eugene Emergency Physicians and replacing them with Georgia-based management corporation called ApolloMD. The move raised concerns among clinicians about patient care and the loss of a trusted local team.
- Feb. 11- Eugene Emergency Physicians unanimously agreed not to work for ApolloMD after PeaceHealth chose the company to take over ER staffing. The 41 clinicians signed a pact, refusing employment with ApolloMD for 90 days past June 30, creating a potential staffing challenge for PeaceHealth.
- Feb 24- PeaceHealth Oregon’s medical staff delivered a decisive vote of no confidence in hospital leadership, with 93% of 367 voters rejecting Chief Hospital Executive Jim McGovern and Chief Medical Officer Kim Ruscher. Staff also overwhelmingly supported reversing the switch to ApolloMD and restoring Eugene Emergency Physicians as the emergency medicine provider.
- March 5- Two Eugene Emergency Physicians leaders testified before an Oregon Senate committee, explaining that replacing their local group with ApolloMD could undermine Lane County’s emergency preparedness and public safety infrastructure.
- March 11- Oregon lawmakers asked ApolloMD to prove it complies with the state’s new law restricting the corporate practice of medicine, but House Majority Leader Ben Bowman, D-Tigard, who authored Senate Bill 951, said the company’s five-page response “only raised further concerns.”
- March 12- More than 150 healthcare workers, elected officials, and community members rallied outside Sacred Heart Medical Center RiverBend in Springfield to oppose PeaceHealth’s plan to replace local ER doctors with ApolloMD, emphasizing the depth of community concern.
- April 9- PeaceHealth Orego n’s top hospital executive, Jim McGovern, was placed on leave after allegations that he improperly directed clinical care despite holding only an administrative—not medical—license. Medical staff voted to support McGovern’s removal and also backed reversing the plan to replace Eugene Emergency Physicians with ApolloMD.
- April 23- More than 6,800 people signed a petition delivered by local nurses urging PeaceHealth to keep Eugene Emergency Physicians and abandon its plan to outsource ER care to ApolloMD.
- April 27- First legal test of Senate Bill 951. The trial opened with Eugene Emergency Physicians arguing that ApolloMD cannot legally provide medical services in Oregon, while PeaceHealth’s defense maintained the transition is lawful despite communication missteps. Judge Mustafa Kasubhai is presiding in U.S. District Court in Eugene.
- April 30- Day three of testimony grew tense when PeaceHealth witness Dr. Johne Philip Chapman—an Illinois-based physician set to take over three Lane County ERs—was unable to answer basic questions about his group’s ties to ApolloMD. His repeated uncertainty led Judge Mustafa Kasubhai to say that the idea he “has no idea how this is set up.”
- May 4- During the fourth day of testimony, the federal judge said ApolloMD CEO Dr. Yogin Patel and Lane Emergency Physicians owner Dr. Johne Chapman were “being dishonest with the court” during their testimony.
- May 6- Court adjourned. A preliminary settlement halted PeaceHealth’s planned shift to ApolloMD, clearing the way for a renewed contract with Eugene Emergency Physicians. The agreement was announced just as Judge Mustafa Kasubhai prepared for another day of hearings in Portland on whether the original outsourcing plan violated Oregon law. The judge said ApolloMD to have “no role in Eugene patient care going forward.”
- May 14- PeaceHealth announced that Dr. Jim McGovern has been relieved of his duties and is no longer serving as chief executive for the Oregon region, effective immediately.
What's next?
U.S. District Court Judge Mustafa Kasubhai plans to continue presiding over the case for the next week or more, until the final ED contract agreement is signed. At that time, the judge said, he will decide whether an opinion is needed.
Regardless of whether a final opinion is issued, Kasubhai said he has the responsibility to neatly wrap up matters because the record has become a matter of precedent.
KLCC will continue to cover PeaceHealth’s efforts to fulfill their pledge to “rebuild trust among hospital staff and the community.”
