Trio advocates for transparency from Asante about future of Asante Ashland Community Hospital  

By Holly Dillemuth, Ashland.news

After a late evening attending the Ashland City Council meeting on Tuesday, Dr. B. Monte Stewart arrived Wednesday morning at his practice in Ashland, preparing for a full workday in the office seeing patients at Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment Center inside Bear Creek Medical Plaza.

Stewart, a board certified general surgeon at the Ashland Treatment Center and Asante Ashland Community Hospital, was among a trio of longtime medical professionals who spoke up at the council meeting Tuesday about shared concerns for the future of Asante Ashland Community Hospital. 

Stewart served as chief of surgery for AACH several times over the course of the past 23 years. He currently serves patients there when not at his office.  

“We are currently in a position right now, a crisis at the hospital, where we don’t know if we’re going to have anesthesia services in three weeks, which stops all surgeries,” Stewart told city councilors on Tuesday night during the public forum portion of the meeting. “We’ve had a major reduction in orthopedic capabilities. We don’t have an (intensive care unit). It is currently impossible to recruit.”

On Wednesday, Stewart spoke more with Ashland.news about his concerns for patient care.

“We’re down to two (anesthesia) providers and the hospital has brought in a couple of temporary providers to fill in the schedule, but we don’t know what the permanent fix is,” he said.

“I really feel like we’ve got kind of a crisis and the tip of it is here locally,” he reiterated later in the interview.

Stewart noted that there is currently a shortage of anesthesia providers across Oregon and the country. The issue is not unique to Ashland.

“It just feels kind of like we had an established group that was doing fine and they (Asante) decided to go a different direction,” Stewart said, “which is in their purview to do, it’s just that we don’t know what that direction is and we’re kind of coming down to a point where we’re not sure what’s going to happen as far as patient care for anesthesia, and that’s kind of a canary in a coalmine concern for us.”

Stewart shared following the meeting that, in light of the ICU closure 18 months ago, most physicians are uncomfortable practicing medicine without an ICU.

“Patients can deteriorate and suddenly need an elevated level of care and to have to rely on transferring them to someone else is sometimes kind of a frightening kind of deal,” Stewart said.

When the ICU at AACH closed, Stewart said some Ashland physicians were worried about the long-term impact on the hospital.

“Usually decisions are made by somebody that doesn’t have to live with that decision at 2 o’clock in the morning,” Stewart said. “Had they thought through some of the long-term consequences of us not being able to recruit new hospitalists, not being able to recruit new surgeons … you’ve kind of created a scenario that looks good on paper financially today, but is kind of the nail in the coffin to ever be anything more.”

“They (Asante) may have a plan and I hope they do,” he added. “This blends into a bigger healthcare crisis nationwide. We can’t fix it if we don’t talk about it.” 

Stewart said he is one of more than three dozen individuals who has been interviewed by a consultant hired by Asante about the future of the hospital.  

“The state of Oregon has one of the lowest hospital beds (rate per) capita in the country,” Stewart said he told the consultant. “For Asante to diminish our valley’s bed status and capability would only interfere with access to care, it would increase emergency waiting times and interfere eventually with the quality of care, not just the convenience of the care … whether people survive or not.”

Stewart said local medical staff have asked that they have input into the report process he said could be completed by Asante or an outside consultant, or a combination of the two, this fall.

At the council meeting, Dr. John Maurer, an orthopedic surgeon and physician, and registered nurse Suzanne Haveman shared many of Stewart’s concerns.

“I’m concerned about the fate of our hospital,” Maurer told councilors. “I’m not here to vilify Asante. I’m not here, certainly, to launch torpedoes at a sinking ship. If Asante does not survive, the hospital is doomed. 

“Bottomline is, you, the city, have a big stick. You have a contract with Asante. They need to keep this open as a full general hospital. If they don’t, they forfeit by contract the $4 million default penalty to you. Keep your eye on the ball,” he added. “Watch what’s happening because the time is critical. We’re about to run out of time.”

Haveman, a registered nurse at Ashland Surgery Center and former surgery manager at Asante Ashland Community Hospital, weighed in as well.

Haveman previously worked at a level one trauma center in Arizona, as well as Providence Medical Center and what is now Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center.

“I consider myself an authority on what I am about to say,” Haveman said. “Ashland Community Hospital is a unique hospital that for decades has been known for exceptional care.”

She emphasized that, up to this point, AACH has maintained nurturing patient-centered care, an aspect of healthcare largely missing in larger hospitals.

“ACH is an extension of this community,” Haveman said. “We cannot measure this in dollars and cents.

“(Asante) Ashland Community Hospital must stay as a part of this community,” she added. “You know it, I know it, and our supporters know it and (it) must remain open as a community hospital.”

Ashland.news reached out to Asante for additional comment on Tuesday evening, but did not receive a response as of publication time Wednesday.

If you or someone you know has worked for or is working for Asante Ashland Community Hospital and would like to share your thoughts or insights, please reach out to Ashland.news reporter Holly Dillemuth at hollyd@ashland.news.

Ashland mayor, councilor weigh in on Ashland hospital concerns (Aug. 8, 2024)

Future of Ashland hospital: Concerned Ashland residents to address City Council at today’s meeting (Aug. 6, 2024)

Asante Ashland Community Hospital ICU to close by Jan. 1 (Dec. 16, 2022)