Rally, public comments draw attention to looming closure of Ashland Family Birth Center, end of inpatient admissions at Ashland hospital

By Holly Dillemuth, Ashland.news

Asante allegedly stymied unionizing campaigns by both physicians and nurses at Asante Ashland Community Hospital in 2025, according to a hospital employee who declined to share their name for publication for fear of losing their job. A second hospital employee familiar with the situation, who also declined to give their name for fear of retaliation, corroborated the information. Asante has denied the allegations.

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this decision (to close the hospital) was made after they were successful in squashing those (unionizing efforts) because there’s nobody to speak up at the hospital,” the employee said.

Asante announced Dec. 3 the Ashland hospital would close its birth center and other inpatient services in the spring. The emergency room and outpatient services including surgery, lab and imaging will remain available, according to the announcement.

The employee said physicians didn’t make it to an actual vote to unionize. The employee also claims that Asante has consistently dissolved physician and administrative leadership at the Ashland hospital for some time, “folding” them into Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center.

“The assertions are factually inaccurate,” a representative of Asante wrote in a letter proactively sent to Ashland.news after initial publication of this story, “and convey institutional misconduct that did not occur.”

Rally on Ashland Plaza

At a rally Friday on Ashland Plaza, more than a dozen individuals stood in solidarity with Asante employees who may be affected by the closure, holding up signs stating: “Save our hospital!” and “We need all the hospitals we can get!” and “Protect Patients not profit!”

The gathering was led by Ashland resident and universal healthcare proponent Lauri Hoagland, who serves as chair of Rogue Valley Healthcare for All Oregon.

Hoagland, a school-based nurse practitioner in Central Point who helped lead organization of the rally, said Asante Ashland staff were initially behind the rally, but feared for their jobs and backed away.  

She told Ashland.news she wanted to serve as a “voice” for nurses and staff at Asante Ashland Community Hospital who say they have been unable to speak freely due to concerns about repercussions from Asante.

“We’ll be your voice,” Hoagland said. “We don’t want you to risk your jobs.

Staffing concerns

One of the employees who spoke with Ashland.news said Asante didn’t fill vacant midwifery positions within the last year.

Patients were transferred out to other hospitals for care at times, including for births, when they had wanted to receive care at Ashland Community Hospital.

The employee told Ashland.news that, previously, Asante Ashland had a group of nurses and physicians that the hospital would involve in major decisions, “sort of like a stop-gap.” 

The employee also stated that, on a routine basis post-pandemic, Ashland hospital has not had the surplus capacity to care for more of the sickest patients.

“Medford is operating at capacity,” the employee said. “For the last many years, we’ve been sending people outside of the valley for things that Rogue could accommodate if they weren’t at capacity and now they’re shrinking what is sort of like the worst beds-per-capita situation even in the wrong direction.

“Continuing to shrink down the bed capacity and the bed availability of the hospitals that rely on them most directly is going to have an immediate negative impact on people who live here, people who want to get their care here.

“God forbid there’s another pandemic or another emergency and we need more beds,” the employee added. 

Fred Katz, chair of Oregon Nursing Association’s bargaining union for Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center in Medford, spoke with Ashland.news this month. He echoed statements made about capacity.

“The idea of bringing more people through our (emergency department) … I don’t understand how transferring the burden of that hospital to (Rogue Regional Medical Center) is really serving Rogue Regional, either,” Katz said via phone.

“It’s not like the hospital is empty, looking for patients,” he added. “We’re a Trauma II center, we serve all the counties from Lakeview to the coast, in Northern California and Southern Oregon.”

Katz said that with the pending closure of inpatient services as well as the birth center, Asante Ashland as a satellite of Rogue Regional Medical Center means that employees who remain should now be invited to join Rogue Regional Medical Center’s contract under ONA.

​​“Even though the nurses at Ashland are not under the ONA umbrella, that will not stop us from looking out for them and it will not stop us from asking Asante to change their minds about this,” Katz said. “When you’re a nurse and you’re a union member, you still care about all nurses and all issues nursing. So while they (Asante Ashland) are not dues-paying members, they are our brothers and sisters.”

Kevin Mealy, spokesperson for ONA, said this isn’t the first time Asante has been accused of retaliatory practices. Mealy said ONA has written legal memos to Asante for allegedly trying to retaliate against nurses who speak out about health and safety concerns.

“The value of having a union is being able to have a strong voice, to fight for community health and safety,” Mealy said.

Hoagland lamented the timing of the announcement by Asante that it plans to close key services at the hospital this spring.

“It’s kind of been a whiplash to get here and have it dropped on us in the middle of winter during a bad flu season,” Hoagland said, referencing the pending closure of the birth center and inpatient surgeries at Asante Ashland Community Hospital later this spring. “It just really seemed like this is an essential service. If we were a fire department, would we close in the middle of summer and move our trucks to Medford? It just really didn’t make sense.”

Former employees at rally

Former employees spoke out at the rally as well, including retired Dr. Steve Thomas, who held a sign saying “Save our hospital!”

As many drivers of passing vehicles honked horns in solidarity, Thomas said he served on hospital staff from 1984 to 2000. He said he came out to the gathering to help spread awareness about the pending closure of the birth center and major services, calling it “horrific.”

“It’s a special hospital, it always has been,” Thomas said, adding that the hospital is among the “crown jewels” of Ashland.

Thomas said he believes Asante should honor the union contract with nurses from Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center in Medford.

Dr. John Maurer, a longtime orthopedic surgeon and physician in Ashland, was also on hand at the rally, drawing attention to the city of Ashland’s 82-page affiliation agreement with Asante to operate the city as a hospital.

“I just continue to be devastated,” Maurer said, referencing Asante’s decision to shutter major services inside and outside the hospital, including the orthopedic clinic he helped found nearly 50 years ago in Ashland.

Maurer said a number of area residents are upset with what he described as the city’s “stand-back-ish” response to Asante’s plan of action.

“The issue that is out in front of everybody, of course, is what is the city going to do about the default, the breach of the contract?” Maurer alleged. The agreement calls for Asante to “operate (Ashland Community Hospital) as a General Hospital” through 2028, 15 years out from the 2013 agreement.

City officials have declined to comment on the situation since first speaking with Ashland.news following the announcement.

“I continue to be perplexed over the idea they’re going to maintain an emergency room,” Maurer continued, noting there will not be a place to admit patients.

“There hasn’t been a transparent moment in the life of Asante as far as Ashland’s concerned in 15 years,” Maurer said. “We have no idea what their plan is.”

Missy Stalp, a nursing instructor for Oregon Health & Sciences University at Southern Oregon University, also held a sign at the rally in solidarity with nurses and nursing students.

“We’re going to lose clinical placements for nursing students,” Stalp said, referencing the effects of the shuttered hospital services.

Stalp noted that there is already a widespread nursing shortage that will only get worse with the closure.

“One reason we can’t get more nurses into the workforce is because we’re short student nursing placements and, on top of that, clinical placements, so it’s really hard to get our nursing students in to get experience while they’re going to nursing school,” Stalp said.

What started as a rally at the Ashland Plaza late Friday afternoon to oppose the action plans of Asante continued Tuesday evening, with multiple comments shared publicly during Ashland City Council’s regular business meeting.

“I hope people realize we have a voice and that people are empowered to share their stories and to let the City Council know what their feelings are,” Hoagland said on Friday.

This is part of a series of stories regarding the impact of Asante’s decision to close the birth center and inpatient surgeries at Asante Ashland Community Hospital. Look for an upcoming story on public comment regarding the pending closure at the Jan. 20 City Council meeting.

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

Jan. 27: Story updated with response from Asante to allegations and further clarification of sourcing.

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Nurses union alleges Asante policy causing staffing shortage (Jan. 12, 2026)

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More than 2,750 have signed petition to appeal closure of Asante Ashland Community Hospital (Dec. 24, 2025)

Viewpoint: Asante kept Ashland in the dark on its decision to downsize hospital (Dec. 23, 2025)

Asante confirms Ashland Orthopedic Surgery and Spine Care to close (Dec. 19, 2025)

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)

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