Planned cessation of inpatient services was announced Dec. 3, to take effect two years earlier than agreed to in 2013
By Holly Dillemuth, Ashland.news
Asante’s announcement that it plans to close the Asante Ashland Community Hospital birth center and inpatient surgery in May 2026 has sparked pushback in a number of ways, including an online petition to appeal the decision started by a staff member that’s gaining traction with more than 2,750 signatures as of publication.
Asante made the announcement on Dec. 3, issuing a news release that they would keep the emergency department and outpatient surgery open. Since that announcement, multiple patients claim that Asante has ended all surgeries at the hospital and given Ashland Orthopedic Surgery and Spine Care 90 days notice of impending closure by March 4.
Asante and the city of Ashland have issued a joint news release stating both entities “will work through any remaining tenets of the affiliation agreement and look forward to continuing the relationship in the future.”
Ashland hospital nurse Kim Prowell said she started the petition to rally the community around the community hospital.
“It’s something to get the word out there,” Prowell said (to view the online petition, click here).
The birth center has 18 delivery and labor nurses, four doulas, and one midwife, following the departure of two more midwives.
“The birth center’s had a lot of challenges over the last year,” Prowell said. “There’s been a lot of supervisor loss. We’ve had a lot of nurses switching over to different jobs, hiring new people, needing (traveling nurses); there’s been some chaos with staffing, which has led to a lot of volatility.”
Ashland Community Hospital FAQ
To read Asante’s list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) and responses, click here
To see the 82-page sale agreement that transferred the hospital from city ownership to Asante in 2013, click here
Despite struggles with staffing, Prowell said the hospital has never decreased its birthing patients.
She said birth center staff have been able to work together to pick up extra shifts to get numbers to remain stable, “with very little help from higher administration.”
Prowell said there have been repairs needed to the birth tub, which she said Asante has not provided. A request for a new tub from Asante was denied, according to Prowell, who noted that Asante told staff, “A tub is a want, not a need.
“Some of my patients, that option is just taken off the table because that resource isn’t actually provided for them,” Prowell said. “It’s been happening for the last six months.”
Prowell doesn’t just work at Asante Ashland, she was also born there.
“It’s not only a personal loss of finances … there’s also a deep emotional mourning for a hospital that is just so deeply important to the community,” Prowell said.
She noted that the team is small and tight knit at Asante Ashland, fostering an environment where care is specialized.
“We really go the extra mile,” Prowell said, “and I think that’s kind of lacking in this hospital system that is just trying to standardize care for every single person and not make it individualized.”
Prowell noted that many share with nurses how special it is to give birth in Ashland.
“It’s that level of special where people make it a point to come back with every kid,” Prowell said.
Ashland Family Birth Center nurse Jessica Mosher echoed Prowell’s concerns about the months leading up to the announcement.
“For months now, we’ve suspected this is the direction they’re taking it,” she added.
Mosher was called in on a day off for a “non-optional” talk with the Asante human resources after she spoke with Jefferson Public Radio about the conditions at the hospital, according to a guest commentary published by the Rogue Valley Times.
“So many people are afraid to speak and I’m just getting to the point where I’m like, ‘why?’” Mosher said. “I’m just so frustrated, I feel so wronged by this company.”
Mosher has worked as a birthing center nurse for Asante Ashland since 2023. She started as an on-call doula with the hospital in 2021.
“The community needs this facility, it needs these nurses,” Mosher said. “We do something very … atypical than other hospitals do. We do water births … it’s just a different format of hospital that we get to do here in Ashland.
“I feel like we give women and birthing individuals a lot more choice in how they want to have their baby,” she added.
There have been 210 births at the birthing center in Ashland this year, according to Mosher, and 212 in 2024.
“We have people who come from the (Oregon) Coast, who come to us from Northern California,” Mosher said, noting water births are rare between Sacramento and Portland aside from Asante Ashland.
“People drive from Klamath Falls to us as well,” she added.
Thirty-seven of the 210 births in 2025 have been born to Ashland residents, according to Asante as of Dec. 3.
Water births are the hospital’s niche, Mosher said, with on-staff doulas onsite.
Those who request a doula at the birth of their child don’t pay out-of-pocket, Mosher said.
“Most hospitals don’t have that,” Mosher said.
Mosher also emphasized that the hospital can perform planned or emergency C-sections.
“We’re not just this hippy-dippy facility (that) does water births,” Mosher said.
“Our care is very midwifery-focused, even through our doctors,” she said. “Our doctors aren’t OB-GYNs, they’re family practice doctors so they can see everyone in the family from birth to death.”
If you or someone you know is directly affected by the pending hospital closure, reach Ashland.news reporter Holly Dillemuth at [email protected].
Related stories:
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)
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)
