Vancouver, Wash.-based PeaceHealth is permanently closing five clinics and services, KLCC reported May 24.
Hospital officials said PeaceHealth will close its pediatric cardiology clinic, sleep clinic, optometry clinic and optical shop on July 21. It's also ending its comprehensive outpatient palliative care May 26 and reducing staff to one nurse and one social worker for in-home care.
Officials told KLCC that "69 positions have been eliminated in the PeaceHealth Oregon network."
Medical staff at PeaceHealth Medical Center, which runs the cardiology clinic in Springfield, Ore., were given a 90-day notice to transition care of about 200 children and teens with heart conditions. Since April 21, when they first received word of the closure, staff have been helping parents find alternative care, but few other practices exist.
"There's no other pediatric cardiology clinic either in Lane County or even the surrounding counties like Douglas or Coos or Linn-Benton," pediatric cardiologist Misty Carlson, MD, told KLCC. "We're really the only pediatric cardiologists that serve that area. So, if any of our patients need care, because we're not here, they're probably most likely gonna travel to Portland."
PeaceHealth is "actively responding to challenges faced by healthcare organizations across the United States," a statement shared with KLCC said. "As always, we are also adjusting operations and services to reflect changes in our communities and ensure we are being responsible to our healing Mission into the future."