Site gets mixed reactions from doctors.

Byline: Tim Christie The Register-Guard

McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center's announcement that it wants to build its new hospital in north Eugene drew mixed reaction from doctors Wednesday, though many were glad that hospital leaders had finally picked a site.

Some greeted the news warily, concerned that having both McKenzie-Willamette and PeaceHealth hospitals in the north end of the metro region would make it harder for them to make patient rounds. Others who work at both hospitals say it would have little effect on their practices.

How much time a doctor spends at a hospital depends largely on his or her specialty. Family doctors may spend the least amount of time inside a hospital, surgeons the most.

Both hospitals employ hospitalists, doctors who specialize in caring for hospitalized patients referred by primary care physicians.

As McKenzie-Willamette and PeaceHealth have evaluated new sites in recent years, doctors have been waiting to figure out where they're going to practice.

The first major move by doctors happened earlier this month, when a network of nine specialty practices, with more than 50 doctors, announced they had reached a deal to build a medical office building next to PeaceHealth's new RiverBend hospital in Springfield's Gateway district.

Among the practices is Northwest Surgical Specialists, the largest general surgery group in the metro area.

Dr. Charlie Stanton, one of the surgeons in the group, said Wednesday he's happy McKenzie-Willamette finally picked a site for its new hospital.

"If that's where they end up and serve the local health care needs, it's a good thing," he said.

Though his group has decided to build an office at the RiverBend hospital, that won't preclude surgeons from operating at McKenzie-Willamette, he said.

"If our patients prefer to be treated at one institution, we go where our patients want to go," he said. "I don't think practicing at two hospitals makes that big a difference to us."

By contrast, Dr. Stephan Ames, a family doctor at the independent Thurston Medical Clinic, said he spends maybe 1 percent of his work time at the hospital.

The advent of hospitalists and other factors, such as insurance reimbursement rates and liability risks, mean that family doctors spend less time in the hospital, Ames said.

But he still wants his practice to continue its affiliation with McKenzie-Willamette, which historically has been friendly to independent doctors, he said.

Dr. Todd Huffman, a Springfield pediatrician, practices primarily at McKenzie-Willamette in Springfield but has privileges at both hospitals. He is happy McKenzie-Willamette has picked a location, but he would have preferred if it had gone to Glenwood.

"It seems unfortunate we have two hospitals that are going to be within two or three miles of each other, and both equally far from the population centers of the metro area."

He also was disappointed that McKenzie-Willamette will be in Eugene, because that will make it more difficult for his Springfield patients to use the hospital.

For many Springfield residents, the idea of going to Eugene is akin to "going from L.A. to New York," he said. "When I refer patients to see Eugene specialists, often the reaction is, `I have to go all the way to Eugene?' Having a hospital there, I'm sure, is going to be susceptible to the same phenomenon."

Huffman said with McKenzie-Willamette in Eugene, it will be harder for him to make his hospital rounds, and as a result, he'll probably spend more time at the hospital at the end of his day.

Surgeons say having both hospitals on the same side of the community won't make much difference to their practices.

Oregon Medical Group's general surgery practice already has two offices, one at each hospital, and probably will have offices at the two new hospitals, said Dr. Kristian Ferry, a surgical oncologist.

OMG surgeons do about 70 percent of their operations at Sacred Heart Medical Center and about 30 percent at McKenzie-Willamette, he said.

He said McKenzie-Willamette has picked a good location for its new hospital that will be good for both Eugene and Springfield.

"Having two hospitals in the community is really beneficial to everybody who uses the hospital - patients, hospital employees and physicians," he said. "It does raise the level of care."