The University District Hospital near campus closed in early December. PeaceHealth closed the University District Hospital in Eugene, Ore. (Kemper Flood/Emerald)
On Feb. 19, the Oregon Legislature passed House Bill 4136. The bill is aimed at improving healthcare access in Lane County and was described by Representative Nancy Nathanson, D-Eugene, as a direct response to the University District PeaceHealth closure in Eugene. They received backing from Eugene-Springfield area State Representatives Nathanson, Fahey and Holvey; as well as State Senators Manning and Prozanski among others.
The bill grants the Oregon Health Authority $4.5 million to administer through Lane County Public Health to carry out the provisions of section four of the bill. Section four includes funding for emergency medical care, a basic life support unit and the creation of an “innovation fund” with the purpose of financing “innovations that are designed to improve access to same-day health care while decreasing the overall same-day health care system costs in the greater Eugene area.”
“That has been a really big issue and we are all concerned about the adverse of that to someone that really needs emergency care, but can’t get it in time or in a timely manner due to the shortage of ambulance workers,” Director of Government Relations for the Oregon Nurses Association, Paige Spence, said.
$1.3 million will be appropriated “to the city of Eugene for the establishment and maintenance of a basic life support unit,” as stated in HB 4136. Jana Bitton, executive director at Oregon Center for Nursing, believes much of it will go toward the impacts of Eugene’s PeaceHealth hospital closure, which was a specific issue addressed in the bill.
Bitton particularly endorsed a provision of the bill that would grant 90-day provisional licenses to out-of-state nurses during temporary staffing shortages.
“That’s going to immediately help the nurses who are coming in from other states that are trying to practice,” Bitton said. “There should not be significant delays in their licensure that should stop them from practicing in the state [of Oregon] right away.”
Bitton cited the lack of nurses needed to fill staffing gaps during the COVID-19 pandemic as a key reason why she advocated for this section of the bill. At the time, workers needed to be exempt from any restrictions before beginning work, putting a lot of pressure on the Oregon State Board of Nursing to process licenses quickly.
UO student Seth Carp hopes the fund will be able to provide students a hospital and emergency room nearby, rather than them having to travel to the nearest location in Springfield — nearly four miles away.
“It’s very important, kids need to get their [medicine and treatment],” Carp said. “A lot of people don’t have cars and they gotta deal with any medical issues as quick as they can.”
HB 4136 represents a significant step by legislators to address the access to healthcare crisis in Lane County. A crisis was exacerbated when Eugene, Oregon’s second largest city, lost its only hospital on Dec. 1 with the closure of the University District PeaceHealth hospital.
“We really applaud the legislature and Representative Nathanson in particular for stepping up and realizing what a loss hospital services are to a community. And [for] bringing that state spotlight on it to try to create a robust health care system for the community,” Spence said.
