Get Your Hands Off My Patients!

The number one rule of emergency medicine is that you never get to do anything uninterrupted.

I hear a shout from one of the rooms: “Help!” I tap a paramedic on the shoulder, address him by name, and ask, “Can you check on them?”

My phone rings again. My patient needs $7 for her insulin co-pay. A nurse spots me a dollar and I pull the last bills from my wallet.

Half an hour later, a colleague pulls me aside. His psychiatric patient won’t speak. He knows I am good at this. I go to her, hold her hand.

As a physician assistant in emergency medicine in Eugene, Oregon, I’m part of a thriving ecosystem of physicians and staff who know each other, know our community, and know that we’ll do our best to treat anyone who walks through our door.

Unfortunately, this summer, our ecosystem of local staff may be entirely wiped out and replaced by staff from ApolloMD, an Atlanta-based staffing company.

That decision was made by Jim McGovern, the chief hospital executive for PeaceHealth Oregon. McGovern has been in the news recently for being placed on administrative leave in light of allegations that he violated the scope of his administrative license and tried to dictate patient care — despite the fact that he does not have an Oregon medical license.

These two decisions — to replace Eugene Emergency Physicians, the group that’s been staffing our local emergency departments for 35 years, and to dictate patient care even when it conflicted with providers’ judgment — are not unrelated. Not only were they both made by the same executive, but they are also part of a dangerous pattern in medicine in Oregon and nationwide in which corporations and private equity firms take control of hospitals and health systems and prioritize profits over patient well-being.

When large corporations dictate care, executives roughly 2,000 miles away can be chosen to replace local staff who know the ins and outs of the system and the community. Management staff in Atlanta don’t know the issues facing patients in Eugene. CEOs don’t know how to connect with psychiatric patients who won’t talk. And I’ve never seen one pull cash out of their wallet to pay for a patient’s insulin.

These reasons and many more are why Oregon passed a first-of-its-kind law to prohibit non-clinician ownership and control of medical practices by management service organizations, which are often owned and run by private equity. Senate Bill 951, enacted in 2025, builds on existing Oregon laws to further restrict the corporate practice of medicine (CPOM). We, the Eugene Emergency Physicians, believe that McGovern’s decision to replace our local group with ApolloMD violates Oregon’s law, and as a result we sued PeaceHealth.

This lawsuit will be a major test of Oregon’s law. If successful, it could set a positive precedent for patients not just in Oregon, but across the country, should other states follow suit and strengthen or pass additional CPOM laws.

States have good reason to do so, because this issue of corporate medical groups and private equity-backed medical staffing companies systematically dismantling local healthcare is widespread. In 2012, just 25% of doctors worked for corporate entities or hospitals. Today, 77% do. Corporations often claim that acquisitions lead to better patient outcomes. But a recent survey shows that fewer than 20% of physicians say the growth in corporate ownership has improved patient care. Research similarly suggests worse outcomes among patients.

The only hospital in our neighboring city recently closed. Yet another medical group the community relied on for primary care was acquired by a multinational health company. Predictably, our emergency department volume surged. Annual visits have increased from roughly 55,000 in 2024 to a projected 86,000 this year.

Despite these challenges, our team has continued to improve patient care. When overcrowding in the emergency department throws additional curveballs our way, we improvise. Recently, when we didn’t have a room for a disabled veteran dealing with a diabetic foot ulcer, I got on my hands and knees and treated him inside an unventilated former vending machine alcove.

These are the things that our team does for our neighbors. An Atlanta company can’t replace that. A healthcare executive without a medical license can’t replace that.

Through the courts and through our laws, we must continue to push back against the corporate practice of medicine. Our patients depend on it.