Asante plans to convert Ashland Community Hospital into a satellite campus of Rogue Regional Medical Center in Medford, a shift that will end inpatient care and close the birth center by spring.

While Asante says declining patient volumes and new regulations have strained the facility, nurses and community members argue the birth center fills a regional gap in maternity care and attracts families seeking lower-intervention deliveries.

“The financial and regulatory landscape for Oregon hospitals is worsening,” said Asante CEO Tom Gessel in a statement. “This past year, Ashland Community Hospital lost millions of dollars.”

According to Asante, the hospital faces regulatory pressures, including a state staffing law, higher licensing fees, federal Medicaid changes and tariffs.

Asante also points to a decline in inpatient care and reports that only 37 Ashland residents gave birth at the facility in 2025.

But nurses at Ashland Community Hospital say that figure paints an incomplete picture.

Kim Prowell, a nurse at the hospital’s birth center, said there were 210 births as of early December. She said people travel from around the region for the hospital’s unique maternity options, such as water births or access to doulas and midwives.

“It’s pretty devastating. I was born there. I had both of my girls there. I’ve helped a lot of my friends and local community members that I see all around town deliver there,” Prowell said. She’s started a petition to keep the birth center open.

Jessica Mosher, another nurse in the birth center, said Rogue Regional doesn’t offer the same services as Ashland, such as water births. Mosher said, to her knowledge, no other hospital in Southern Oregon or far Northern California offers water births.

She said staff at Ashland Community Hospital are experts in physiological birth, a method of delivery that avoids unnecessary medical interventions.

“We do all these really kind of unique niche things that other hospitals don’t really do, and I think that’s what really makes us special,” Mosher said.

Asante has said staff in Ashland will be offered similar positions at its other hospitals. But Mosher said she’s not sure she wants to transfer to another location.

“This is the facility where I felt like I get to practice and function in a way that supports families to make their own educated and informed choices about birth,” Mosher said.

She said she was trained at Rogue Regional and didn’t fit with its model of care.

“Everything was so high risk,” she said. ”It’s like you couldn’t make a baby being born a happy event,” she said.

Although Asante made the announcement this week, nurses at the hospital said there were indications change was coming. Asante failed to retain staff and didn’t fix one of two water birthing tubs, Mosher said, or buy extra cots for fathers to stay with their partner.

The City of Ashland sold the hospital to Asante in 2013. Under that agreement, Asante must operate the facility as a general hospital through 2028, or pay a $4 million fee to the city. According to state law, a general hospital must provide “at least general medical, maternity and surgical services.

Asante has not responded to a request for comment about this clause.

Ashland city attorney Johan Pietila said it is the city’s understanding that Asante will continue to operate Asante Community Hospital under Rogue Regional’s general hospital license.

“The City values Ashland Hospital and the partnership with Asante, but of course, the City and the legal department will monitor the changes as they roll out next year,” Pietila said in a statement. “Currently, while an announcement has been made by Asante, no changes have taken place, therefore any attempted legal action — if that were to be the path taken — would be premature or not ripe for adjudication.”

Asante said Ashland Community Hospital will continue emergency care, outpatient surgery and imaging.

Justin Higginbottom is a reporter with Jefferson Public Radio. This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.

It is part of OPB’s broader effort to ensure that everyone in our region has access to quality journalism that informs, entertains and enriches their lives. To learn more, visit our journalism partnerships page.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/12/05/ashland-oregon-community-hospital-birth-center-maternity/