Patients at one of the Eugene-Springfield area’s two hospitals are being treated in a call center and a former vending machine room. It comes amid a surge in respiratory illnesses and ongoing turmoil in the local healthcare system.
In a letter to the Oregon Health Authority last month – a Peace Health Executive told the agency it was facing an overwhelming number of patients seeking emergency care at its Riverbend Medical Center in Springfield.
In addition to a late-season spike in respiratory illnesses, the Hospital has also had an 80% increase in boarding patient time, which is when patients are admitted to the hospital but wait hours, or days in some cases, for care…