March 25, 2025
(Tualatin, Ore.) - To reflect the addition of new bargaining units and growth of membership, the Pacific Northwest Hospital Medicine Association (PNWHMA) will now be known as Northwest Medicine United (NWMU). Since 2022, nine additional bargaining units have been organized under NWMU, and three of those units settled their first contracts in recent months. The bargaining units now include adult, pediatric, OB and palliative care hospitalists, ED providers, urgent care providers, adult and pediatric subspecialists, and primary care and women’s health providers. In response to the exponential growth, the executive team of the union approved a name change to better reflect the diversity of providers and practice locations it represents.
“We started in 2014, representing the original 24 hospitalists at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eugene. We now represent around 700 physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician associates across Oregon working in a variety of healthcare settings,” said Dr. Charlotte Yeomans, a physician from PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center and president of the union. “With all of our recent wins, I expect more healthcare professionals to consider what unionization might allow them to achieve in their workplaces.”
Hospitalists are the physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician associates who care for hospitalized patients. They manage a patient’s care while in the hospital, working with specialists to determine what testing and treatments are needed. Hospitalists also facilitate discharge and handoff to primary care physicians.
The formerly-named PNWHMA became the first hospitalists’ union in the country when it was organized under the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) in 2014. Hospitalists at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center chose to form a union when the medical center announced plans to outsource hospitalist services to a 3rd-party company. Before unionizing, the hospitalists were employed by the hospital-associated medical group under individual contracts.
“Healthcare has become increasingly corporatized in recent years, which has only escalated since the economic devastation of COVID-19. Important medical decisions made by experienced healthcare providers are now frequently overruled by the short-term goals of those in the C-suite. By organizing and joining a union, we create a unified collective voice to advocate for our patients and colleagues,” continued Dr. Yeomans. “Our contracts not only cover pay and benefits but also include staffing and committee participation. As a union, we are better equipped to address specific concerns with administration.”
Recent First Contract Wins
Three bargaining units within NWMU have won historic first contracts in recent months.
In January emergency department physicians and advanced practice providers reached a first contract with Providence Medford Medical Center. Throughout negotiations, members focused on the need to recruit more providers to Medford and the critical role of the ED within the hospital.
It took nearly two years for physicians and advanced practice providers from PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Urgent Care to reach a first contract in February 2025. The urgent care providers were able to reach a deal that addressed their top priorities, including burnout, understaffing, safe patient care, and ensuring access to care for the region’s most vulnerable patients.
Hospitalists employed by Providence St. Vincent participated in the recent Providence strike with nurses for almost six weeks, spanning January and February 2025, before approving a first contract. This was the largest healthcare workers' strike in Oregon history and the first time doctors and advanced practice providers walked a strike line in the state. The bargaining unit was able to negotiate an agreement to reform staffing models across all departments, improving patient care and safety standards; it secured increases to sick time, establishing equity with other Providence hospitalists; and it achieved significant pay raises to make Providence St. Vincent hospitalist compensation competitive with that of other regional health systems.
The following bargaining units are represented by Northwest Medicine United:
- PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Hospitalists
- PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Urgent Care Physicians and Advanced Practice Providers
- Legacy Pediatric Specialty Physicians
- Legacy Adult Specialty Physicians
- Legacy Hospitalists
- Legacy Primary Care Advanced Practice Providers and Physicians
- Legacy Women’s Clinic Physicians
- Providence Immediate Care Physicians and Advanced Practice Providers
- Providence Medford ER Physicians and Advanced Practice Providers
- Providence St. Vincent Hospitalists