Asante, City of Ashland share update on Ashland Community Hospital
Asante and the City of Ashland continue to work collaboratively regarding upcoming changes at Ashland Community Hospital. Both entities recognize that hard decisions are necessary to preserve key health care services and retain access for residents.
In 2013, the City of Ashland sold the hospital during an equally turbulent time. Over the past decade, Asante invested significantly in the facility and its people and consistently explored clinical service opportunities. Shifting demographics in the community and challenging regulatory and economic conditions in Oregon have prevented a viable path forward in the hospital’s current format – similar to the headwinds the City faced 12 years ago.
“The City of Ashland appreciates the offer from Asante to address the transitions at Ashland Community Hospital in a way that strengthens the City and builds on the mutually beneficial, long-term relationship between our organizations. Moving forward in this way provides clarity and simplicity, both of which are needed as each of our organizations manage through a difficult financial landscape,” says Tonya Graham, Mayor, City of Ashland.
A key driver of this transition to become a satellite campus of Rogue Regional Medical Center is the significant and growing financial and regulatory burdens health care organizations are facing. The primary goal is to retain access for the services Ashland residents utilize consistently and reduce duplication for services that are declining in volumes. The 24/7 Emergency Department, Imaging, Laboratory and outpatient surgeries will continue in the existing facility on Maple Street. Inpatient and obstetrics services will be provided at Rogue Regional in Medford.
“We’re grateful for the continued collaboration and support from the City of Ashland,” says Tom Gessel, President and CEO, Asante. “As a locally owned and governed not-for-profit health system, our Mission remains to provide quality health care services in a compassionate manner valued by the communities we serve. These services must also be viable and sustainable for the longer term. We feel strongly this transition will allow us to continue caring for Ashland residents with the services utilized the most.”
Between now and spring of 2026, the City and Asante will work through any remaining tenets of the affiliation agreement and look forward to continuing the relationship into the future.
Asante is a locally owned and governed not-for-profit health system with 6,000 employees providing compassionate care to nearly 600,000 people in a nine-county area of southern Oregon and northern California. Asante includes Ashland Community Hospital, Asante Physician Partners, Rogue Regional Medical Center in Medford, Three Rivers Medical Center in Grants Pass, and additional health care locations throughout the region.
City of Ashland provides a full range of municipal services designed to support a safe, sustainable and thriving community. Core services include police, fire and rescue, public works, parks and recreation, community development, electric utility services, fiber network and municipal water and wastewater operations. The City is committed to delivering responsive, high-quality services that promote public safety, environmental stewardship and community well-being. We are Better Together! ashlandoregon.gov
