FILE - Residents protest the closing of Ashland Community Hospital's birthing center in Ashland on Jan. 16, 2026.
Justin Higginbottom/JPR
A small group of demonstrators in downtown Ashland met on Friday to protest looming reductions in services at Ashland Community Hospital.
Asante announced in December that Ashland Community Hospital would become a satellite campus of Medford’s Rogue Regional Medical this spring. The change will end inpatient care and birthing center services at the Ashland location.
Lauri Hoagland, an organizer with HealthCare for All Oregon, said Ashland’s hospital is known for its low-intervention care, water births and doula services.
“My worry is that moving the birthing services to the regional hospital will change that,” she said. “And I think women should have a voice in that intimate moment of their lives.”
The hospital, owned by the city until 2013, has a long history in Ashland.
“It’s kind of a foundational part of who we are,” Hoagland said.
Ashland sold the facility to Asante under an agreement that promised general hospital services would continue through 2028 — or else Asante would pay a $4 million fee. City officials so far have not said whether they will require Asante to pay that fee.
A joint statement from Ashland and Asante said they would work collaboratively on upcoming changes.
“We insist that Asante honor its 2013 agreement with the community of Ashland to continue through 2028 to provide general hospital services, including birthing, inpatient and surgical services, to the residents of Ashland,” according to a statement by HealthCare for All Oregon.
Asante has blamed financial and regulatory burdens for the transfer of services to Rogue Regional Medical Center.
In 2024, the hospital generated $71.8 million in net patient revenue and incurred $66.5 million in operating expenses.
“I anticipate that this decision will hurt the health and safety of individuals seeking inpatient care, as well as expectant mothers and newborns, who will no longer have local access to care,” Sen. Jeff Merkley wrote to Asante President & CEO Tom Gessel in December.
Emergency services and some outpatient care, like labs and imaging, will remain in Ashland.
Justin Higginbottom is a reporter with Jefferson Public Radio.
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