Legacy Health intends in the coming months to shutter several operations, including six clinics, the latest hit to health care capacity in the Portland area.<\/p>\n
Legacy-GoHealth Urgent Care clinics in the Pearl District and on North Williams Avenue will close Nov. 15, Legacy Health said in a statement. So will all all four Legacy-GoHealth Urgent Care clinics in Washington state.<\/p>\n
The Legacy Health system, one of the largest health care providers in the area, is culling operations at Portland-area hospitals too. <\/p>\n
At Legacy Emanuel Medical Center, the Legacy Devers Eye Institute as well as an outpatient neuro-rehabilitation program will close early next year. The hospital will narrow the scope of its outpatient rehab services in general. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program at Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center is set to shutter Jan. 9. And the Legacy Salmon Creek Pain Clinic will stop operating on March 20.<\/p>\n
The system said that eight Legacy-GoHealth Urgent Care centers in Oregon will remain fully open.<\/p>\n
In a Oct. 15 note to staff reviewed by WW, Legacy COO Jonathan Avery attributed the changes to \u201csignificant financial pressures that require difficult but necessary choices.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cRising labor and supply costs, stagnant reimbursement rates, recent legislative actions, including mandated nurse-to-patient ratios and broad application of presumptive eligibility for financial assistance, as well as broader uncertainties in health care continue to challenge our sustainability and force us to make tough decisions about how and where we provide care,\u201d Avery wrote. <\/p>\n
Reached for comment, the Oregon Nurses Association said Avery\u2019s explanation felt disingenuous, given past indications from Legacy suggesting it was in OK financial health, and the \u201clavish\u201d salaries it doles out to its executive team. Meanwhile, ONA spokeswoman Myrna Jenson wrote in an email, nurse staffing ratios improve health outcomes and mean less employee turnover.<\/p>\n
\u201cUltimately,\u201d Jenson wrote, \u201cif Legacy can\u2019t provide patients with the care they deserve, there is something wrong with their corporate business model.\u201d <\/p>\n
The closures, first reported<\/a> by The Lund Report, come following months of layoffs at other area health institutions, from CareOregon<\/a> to Providence Health & Services<\/a> to Legacy itself, which this summer eliminated 40 positions and restructured its executive team. <\/p>\n