PeaceHealth RiverBend Nurses Cast 98% No Confidence Vote in Leadership

Frontline nurses at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in Springfield cast a weeklong Oregon Nurses Association ballot Feb. 23–March 1 in which 98% of participating nurses said they have no confidence in Chief Hospital Executive Jim McGovern, MD, and Chief Medical Officer Kim Ruscher, MD. The ONA said it represents more than 1,600 frontline registered nurses at RiverBend and that a majority of those nurses participated in the vote.

The ballot followed PeaceHealth’s announced intention to replace local doctor group Eugene Emergency Physicians with ApolloMD, a change nurses and medical staff have framed as outsourcing emergency care. The Register‑Guard reported that PeaceHealth intends to contract with ApolloMD, and KLCC noted ONA’s request that PeaceHealth reverse the decision and retain Eugene Emergency Physicians.

RiverBend medical staff held a separate no‑confidence vote the prior week, with Register‑Guard reporting a 93% no‑confidence vote in PeaceHealth leadership and a 98% vote in favor of retaining Eugene Emergency Physicians. Other outlets characterized the medical staff result as “more than 93%,” underscoring that both nurses and physicians at RiverBend have registered strong institutional opposition to the leadership decision tied to the emergency staffing change.

Chris Rompala, RN, ONA executive chair and a nurse at RiverBend, framed the ballot as a demand for accountability and local care: “This vote sends a clear message: our community deserves better healthcare.” Rompala added, “Frontline nurses are frustrated and alarmed by PeaceHealth’s repeated cuts, closures, and outsourcing attempts. PeaceHealth executives are leading our community’s care in the wrong direction. Nurses are standing together to demand accountability and a renewed commitment to safe, local, patient-centered healthcare.”

Rob Sabin, RN, an ER nurse at RiverBend and member of the ONA executive team, connected the vote to staffing and operational trends: “PeaceHealth executives’ pattern of closures, layoffs and attempted outsourcing isn’t sustainable or acceptable.” ONA’s release reiterated that 98% of nurses who voted say they have no confidence in PeaceHealth executives’ ability to meet the system’s mission to provide outstanding patient care and promote community health.

At the time of reporting, KVAL noted PeaceHealth had not yet publicly responded to the nurses’ vote. Lookout Eugene‑Springfield and other coverage cautioned that no‑confidence votes are formal expressions of disapproval but do not remove executives from their positions or automatically reverse administrative decisions. The Register‑Guard also reported that Oregon lawmakers have begun pressing ApolloMD over hospital staffing and corporate practice of medicine compliance, signaling potential legislative scrutiny of the outsourcing plan.

The ONA vote sharpens pressure on PeaceHealth leadership in Springfield and raises immediate questions about emergency department staffing continuity at RiverBend, whether PeaceHealth will reverse its decision to contract with ApolloMD, and how lawmakers and hospital leaders will respond to unified complaints from more than 1,600 frontline nurses and the hospital’s medical staff.