Lane County Open Letter

To Our Lane County Community,

Over the past weeks and months, PeaceHealth leaders have spent many hours listening to the voices of the Lane County community - voices of physicians, caregivers, first responders, partners, community members and elected officials. 

It became resoundingly clear: Our community cares deeply about the strength and stability of emergency services in our region, and the people responsible for delivering care every day.

As a result of those conversations, PeaceHealth and Eugene Emergency Physicians reengaged in direct and constructive discussions about the future of emergency care in our community. Those talks reinforced that both of our organizations share a fundamental commitment to providing safe, reliable, high-quality emergency care for every patient who enters through our doors.

This commitment is at the center of the long-term agreement that PeaceHealth and Eugene Emergency Physicians (EEP) have finalized to continue working together to provide emergency department physician services in Lane County.

We know the road to this agreement wasn't easy. It came after a period of real frustration and worry regarding the future of emergency services in our region. We want to acknowledge that openly and apologize for the concern this caused. But that friction also made one thing undeniably clear: our neighbors, caregivers, and civic leaders care fiercely about the quality of our local healthcare. We have channeled that shared passion into direct, constructive dialogue to build a better path forward.

PeaceHealth has invested in additional emergency department staff, renovations in the RiverBend emergency department space and additional inpatient medical beds. Those investments will drive down lobby and ambulance wait times and reduce emergency department boarding. 

We believe this agreement with EEP, combined with those investments, creates a stronger foundation for the future. But we also know this is only the beginning of the work ahead. 

Emergency departments in Lane County – and across the country – face increasing pressures tied to rising patient numbers, financial constraints, and growing complexity in patient needs. We cannot solve these challenges alone. Meaningful progress will require sustained partnership and continued discussion across our healthcare and public safety systems. 

As leaders at PeaceHealth and EEP, we are committed to moving forward together with greater transparency, stronger partnership, and a shared focus on serving the patients and families who count on us every day.

For generations, PeaceHealth and EEP have stood side-by-side to care for your families, through ordinary days and extraordinary crises alike. We are profoundly grateful for that history, for the patience of our community, and for the tireless dedication of our caregivers. We are incredibly optimistic about the future of emergency care in Lane County, and we are eager to get to work on all the good that is yet to be.

Sincerely,

Heather Wall, MSN, RN
Interim Chief Executive, PeaceHealth Oregon

Brad Anderson, MD
President, Eugene Emergency Physicians

Mark Korth
Chief Transformation Officer, PeaceHealth