Staff was given 90 days notice of closure the day after cutbacks at Asante Ashland Community Hospital was announced, they told patients

By Holly Dillemuth, Ashland.news

Jay Ach, an Ashland resident of more than 10 years, says he noticed a “strange” atmosphere when he walked into Ashland Orthopedic Surgery and Spine Care Clinic for his appointment on Thursday, Dec. 10, he told Ashland.news by phone.

The 70-year-old Ashlander said an employee who took his intake information was “clearly upset,” Ach told Ashland.news Thursday, Dec. 18. Ach asked her about whether the office would be closing as he had heard from other employees and staff. Following an announcement by Asante on Wednesday, Dec. 3, it would be closing the Ashland Family Birth Center and no longer doing inpatient surgery at Ashland Community Hospital in May 2026, Asante gave a 90-day notice to its Ashland Orthopedic staff on Dec. 4 it plans to close the office across Maple Street from the hospital by March 4. 

“She didn’t quite break into tears, but she was clearly on the verge of tears,” Ach told Ashland.news.

Desirae Myers, communications and marketing associate for Asante, confirmed the pending closure in an email to Ashland.news on Friday morning. 

Myers said Asante is supporting patients with referrals to new providers within the community, but did not specify the reason for closure when asked.

Asante has not responded to requests for interviews with Asante’s top executives.

“The office was really convenient when I had shoulder surgery about a year and a half ago,” Ach said. 

“Everybody I dealt with there was absolutely wonderful,” he added. “I really hate to lose them as my personal medical providers, but also I just feel awful that they’re all potentially losing their jobs.”

Multiple patients have reported their surgeries have been canceled, among them Steven Renskers, a patient of Dr. Glen O’Sullivan for more than 30 years. 

Renskers describes it as “very overwhelming” to find out his long-awaited neck surgery was cancelled at the Ashland Orthopedic office.  

“It’s not just Dr. O’Sullivan’s surgeries that were cancelled at the hospital,” Renskers said. “It’s every surgery with every doctor that operates at Ashland hospital.”

The 66-year-old Medford resident served as a Fire District No. 5 paramedic for many years, up until a spinal fusion surgery performed more than 23 years ago by O’Sullivan, Renskers said, following a car collision in 2002 while he was off-duty.

In the last few days, Renskers learned he could reschedule his surgery with Dr. O’Sullivan in Mt. Shasta, since he also has a practice there one day per week.

O’Sullivan is one of the few doctors in the Rogue Valley who provides the disk replacement surgery in his neck that he currently needs, according to Renskers. 

The surgery will replace a disk that is causing severe headaches that disrupt everyday life, in addition to making him sensitive to light and sound.

“I don’t know until I wake up how it will affect my day,” Renskers said.

Now, the couple will need to travel about an hour and a half each way over Siskiyou Pass to get to his rescheduled surgery at Mercy Medical Center in Mt. Shasta.

His wife is also on 24/7 oxygen, providing additional challenges during the trip.

“I’m sure it could end up being OK,” Renskers said, noting “that’s not the case” for many other patients of Dr. O’Sullivan.

“What are the rest of his patients going to do?” he added. “Asante is basically forcing him to abandon his patients.”

Ach echoed Renskers sentiments regarding the impact of Asante’s recent announcement it will close some of its Ashland operations.

“This whole thing has really changed my perception of Asante and not for the better,” Ach said. “My wife and I have had great medical care there and have really thought very highly of Asante, yet what it’s doing now really makes it seem predatory, frankly, and reduces my estimation of the organization itself — not the medical personnel, they are great.”

“It seems like Asante is just slowly dismantling medical care in Ashland and trying to move it all to Medford,” he added.

The son of a family practice physician who practiced in Cincinnati, Ohio, Ach recalls the decades his father put into his patient relationships, noting the reciprocal investment by patients.

“It’s a real loss, for the patient, but it’s also a loss for the doctors,” Ach said.

“I’ve got friends who’ve had major medical problems and Asante has taken really good care of them,” he added. “But it seems like Asante is certainly abandoning Ashland.”

Asante has said the emergency room and lab services department will remain open in Ashland.

Ach also said that if services beyond the emergency department are needed in Ashland after May 2026, “It’s a 30-minute drive to Medford” to navigate downtown Ashland to get either on Interstate 5 or Highway 99.

“That time difference can make a difference in … what happens to a patient, whether they live or die,” Ach said.

“I think Asante has kind of painted themselves (into) a corner where they’re going to look bad no matter what happens at this point.”

Ach told Ashland.news he was referred to another provider for further care because staff at the time were unsure of their schedule or when they would close.

Ach was told by employees that they were unaware of the closure date when he spoke with them. He was also told that employees would be paid for 90 days following the Dec. 4 announcement of the closure.

“They were reluctant at that point to make other appointments,” Ach said.

Reach Ashland.news reporter Holly Dillemuth at [email protected].

Related stories:

City of Ashland reacts to pending closure of birthing center, end of inpatient care at Ashland hospital (Dec. 4, 2025)

Asante plans to close birthing center, stop inpatient surgery at Asante Ashland Community Hospital in 2026 (Dec. 3, 2025)

Asante Ashland Community Hospital to grow birthing center, maintain emergency services, according to new strategic plan (Dec. 9, 2024)

Hospital will not close, Asante representative tells Ashland City Council (Aug. 20, 2024)

Asante CEO: ‘There will be no gap in coverage’ at Ashland hospital (Aug. 16, 2024)

‘Crisis at the hospital’: Potential loss of anesthesia services, surgical services at Ashland hospital concerns medical professionals (Aug. 8, 2024)

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)

Memo: Asante completes 3% workforce reduction across region, citing financial losses (Feb. 13, 2024)

Asante Ashland earns coveted designation for age-friendly treatment (Nov. 20, 2023)

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