Asante and Southern Oregon Cardiology partnership strengthens cardiac care in southern Oregon

Cardiac expansion project on schedule to complete in fall 2026

MEDFORD, Ore. (Feb. 4, 2026) - Southern Oregon Cardiology and Asante have signed a multi-year extension of their co-management relationship, one that has been in place for more than 10 years. The long-standing partnership enables Asante to continue expanding cardiac services for southern Oregon.

"We are greatly appreciative of Asante's commitment to excellence in cardiovascular care across our region building on a strong foundation over decades. Generations of family members have trusted us with their heart care and our outcomes speak for themselves on a regional and national level. We look forward to expanding cardiac services at Rogue Regional Medical Center, allowing us to save more lives across the valley and our outlying regions," says Nathan Funk, MD, Southern Oregon Cardiology.

Building on a foundation of excellence
Rogue Regional serves as the region's premier cardiac care provider, which is represented through national recognition including these recent accolades:

• American College of Cardiology's NCDR Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award
• American Heart Association's Get With The Guidelines® achievement awards
  • Coronary Artery Disease STEMI Receiving Gold Plus quality achievement
  • Coronary Artery Disease NSTEMI Gold quality achievement
  • Stroke Gold Plus quality achievement
• Ranked fourth in the nation for lowest readmission rate for patients experiencing heart failure, according to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published data.

"Relationships grounded in trust are essential to achieving shared sustainability in health care. When both partners remain anchored in our Mission, we strengthen our ability to care for our communities together," says Angie Simonson, SVP and Chief Operating Officer.

Expansion project underway
In March last year, the next phase of construction began at Rogue Regional to expand patient access to cardiac services. The project is making progress, with an anticipated completion in fall 2026. The new spaces will include:

• Six cath labs for procedures such as placing life-saving devices like stents, valves and pacemakers with state-of-the-art equipment. It will also house additional "shell space" for future expansion.
• A Cardiovascular Recovery Unit with additional rooms and co-located on the same floor as other cardiac units.

New cardiac MRI technology will also be implemented, which allows physicians to capture the heart in motion-showing how well it beats, how blood flows and whether damage or scarring has occurred. It transforms standard MRI images into vivid, three-dimensional insights that reveal the heart's structure and function with remarkable clarity. This imaging modality was 100% funded by philanthropy.

Built by and for our communities
As a non-profit, charitable organization, the cardiac expansion is one of three main initiatives in Asante Foundation's campaign, AsanteForward2030. To date, donors have generously contributed over $2.5 million to make this project a reality. Learn more: https://asantefoundation.org/campaign/cardiac-care/.

Asante is a locally owned and governed not-for-profit health system with 6,000 employees providing compassionate care to nearly 600,000 people in a nine-county area of southern Oregon and northern California. Asante includes Ashland Community Hospital, Asante Physician Partners, Rogue Regional Medical Center in Medford, Three Rivers Medical Center in Grants Pass and additional health care locations throughout the region.