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Ashland hospital intensive care unit to close By Vickie Aldous Updated: Dec 22, 2022 10:47 AM A A Asante Ashland Community Hospital’s four-bed intensive care unit is closing and patients who need intensive care will be treated at other Rogue Valley hospitals. [Asante file photo] Asante Ashland Community Hospital’s four-bed intensive care unit will close permanently by Dec. 31 due to low patient volumes and staffing shortages, according to Asante. “Closing a unit of the hospital is never an easy decision,” Dr. Jamie Grebosky, Asante chief medical officer, said in an announcement posted to Asante’s website. “We understand how this impacts our employees, our patients and the community. However, as we move forward from the pandemic, we need to optimize our health system’s critical resources.” Asante said the decision was based on several factors, including difficulty in recruiting and retaining nurses, an annual ICU operating loss of $1.5 million and low patient volumes, which made it difficult for nurses to maintain their required competency levels for the highest-acuity patients. “Like many rural hospitals across the country, our health system is struggling to recruit nurses despite ongoing efforts,” Amanda Kotler, Asante chief nursing officer, said in the announcement. “Closing Ashland’s ICU will allow Asante to deploy valuable staff members to other departments.” Ashland patients who need intensive care can be transferred to ICUs at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center in Medford or Asante Three Rivers Medical Center in Grants Pass, Asante said. “Over the past few years, our three hospitals have developed a close partnership to balance volumes for ICU and non-ICU patients. Our transfer teams have developed a process that’s efficient and safe for our patients,” Kotler said. Ashland ICU employees have been offered the opportunity to transition into other jobs in Asante’s system, Asante said. “During the pandemic, Ashland’s ICU team played a crucial role in the care of patients with COVID-19. Their contribution to the community has been invaluable, and we are incredibly grateful for the team’s care of our patients,” Dr. Steven Hersch, vice president of medical affairs and administrator at the Ashland hospital, said in the announcement. Asante’s Board of Directors, executive team and leadership are identifying short- and long-term changes to help the organization be more efficient. Through that process, the decision was made this fall to close the Ashland ICU by the end of the year, according to Asante. As of Wednesday, there were 52 staffed ICU beds available in Jackson and Josephine counties at Asante hospitals and Providence Medford Medical Center. Those beds were 92% full, with four open beds, according to state hospitalization data. ICU beds are 94% full in the Portland region, 98% full in the Salem region, 99% full in the Eugene and Roseburg region, 95% full in Central Oregon, 100% full in the Hood River area and 95% full in far Eastern Oregon, hospitalization data shows. Hospitals across Oregon are under strain from the flu, respiratory syncytial virus and COVID-19, plus typical traumas, like car crashes and heart attacks. Respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, normally causes coldlike symptoms, but babies, children and other sensitive groups have been hard hit this year. The Rogue Valley, state and nation face a shortage of health care workers. Reach Mail Tribune reporter Vickie Aldous at 541-776-4486 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @VickieAldous.