Health

Portland’s Main Psychiatric Hospital and Its Top Nurse Part Ways

As of last week, June Gower was no longer the chief nursing officer at the Unity Center for Behavioral Health.

By Andrew Schwartz
Unity Center for Behavioral Health. (Wesley Lapointe) (Justin Katigbak)

The leader who oversaw more than 200 nurses at Unity Center for Behavioral Health, Portland’s main psychiatric hospital, no longer works there.

“It is with a heavy heart that I send this message to inform you of a leadership change at Unity Center, effective today,” Unity president Melissa Eckstein wrote in an email to staff dated Sept. 24 and obtained by WW. “Chief Nursing Officer June Gower is no longer in her role at Unity Center.”

Another leader, Director of Patient Care Services Chris Hatch, would step in to the job in an interim capacity, effective that day, the email said.

“We understand this change will bring emotions and questions,” Eckstein continued, “and we are here to support you.”

Eckstein expressed her gratitude to Gower for her many contributions to Unity.

Gower took the job in late 2022, according to an old news release. Before this, it said, she was the executive director at the Mid-Columbia Center for Living, a behavioral health provider.

The Unity Center for Behavioral Health was hospital was founded by several local health systems, but is run by Legacy Health. A spokesperson for that health system declined to comment on personnel matters, but confirmed this week that Gower no longer worked at Legacy.

Gower could not be reached for comment.

Andrew Schwartz

Andrew Schwartz

Andrew Schwartz writes about health care. He's spent years reporting on political and spiritual movements, most recently covering religion and immigration for the Chattanooga Times Free Press, and before this as a freelancer covering labor and public policy for various magazines. He began his career at the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin.

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