The plan, released Dec. 5, was developed with input from more than 100 stakeholders, including clinicians, community members and local business leaders. In August, Asante silenced rumors of plans to close the hospital, and confirmed the facility would maintain acute care operations.
“Ashland Community Hospital will remain a key resource in the community by retaining its acute care operations and adjusting service lines to meet the current needs of the population and align with other services throughout the health system,” Asante said in a Dec. 5 news release.
Under the plan, the community hospital will focus on lower acuity inpatient cases and emergency department care, while investing in surgeon recruitment to expand surgical services. The hospital also aims to boost volumes at its family birth center by recruiting additional clinicians.
The health system’s Rogue Regional Medical Center, which is about 13 miles from Ashland Community Hospital, provides more advanced levels of care.
“It’s important we don’t have a redundancy of services,” said Brandon Mencini, CEO of both hospitals, in the release. “At Rogue Regional, our identity is a tertiary regional referral and level 2 trauma center serving southern Oregon and northern California. This is where you go for things like major trauma injuries, strokes and heart attacks.”
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