If you have driven through downtown Eugene recently — anywhere near 13th and Hilyard, along the old University District medical corridor — you have seen it. The cranes. The fencing. The slow, methodical dismantling of what used to be PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center’s downtown campus.
For decades, that building was the hospital in Eugene. If you were born here before 2008, there is a decent chance you were born there. If a family member had surgery, a friend had a baby, or someone you loved spent their last days in a hospital bed — it was probably those hallways. Generations of Eugene families have memories tied to that building, and watching it come down stirs something that a construction project normally does not.
But the building is coming down. And if you are someone who has sent flowers to “Sacred Heart” in the past and you are not sure where to send them now, this article is for you.
🏗️ What Is Happening Downtown
The old PeaceHealth Sacred Heart campus on Hilyard Street in Eugene’s University District is being demolished. The main hospital operations moved to the RiverBend campus in Springfield back in 2008 when that facility opened, but pieces of the downtown campus stayed operational for years afterward — outpatient clinics, specialty services, and administrative offices occupied parts of the complex well into the 2020s.
Now the remaining structures are coming down. The teardown is a major project — the campus spans multiple buildings across several blocks — and it has been progressing in phases. If you live nearby or drive through the University District, you have seen the changing skyline, the heavy equipment, and the dust.
What replaces it is still evolving. The site sits in one of Eugene’s most central neighborhoods, steps from the University of Oregon, surrounded by restaurants, housing, and the cultural heart of the city. Whatever goes there will reshape that part of town for decades. But for now, it is a demolition site.
🏥 Where Hospital Flower Deliveries Go Now
Here is the practical part. If someone you know is in the hospital in the Eugene-Springfield area and you want to send flowers, the destination is almost certainly PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in Springfield.
The address:
PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend
3333 RiverBend Drive
Springfield, OR 97477
RiverBend is the region’s primary full-service hospital. It handles emergency care, surgery, labor and delivery, cardiac care, oncology, intensive care, and virtually every other inpatient service. If someone tells you they are “at Sacred Heart” or “at the hospital,” this is where they mean.
Other facilities in the area that accept flower deliveries:
- PeaceHealth University District (outpatient clinics) — some outpatient services still operate at satellite locations near the old downtown campus. These are clinics, not inpatient hospital stays — flower deliveries here are uncommon, but if someone is having a procedure at an outpatient clinic, call ahead to confirm they accept deliveries.
- McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center — a separate hospital system in Springfield (1460 G Street). Full-service hospital. We deliver there regularly.
- PeaceHealth Cottage Grove Community Medical Center — a smaller community hospital south of Eugene. We deliver there as well.
🚚 Sending Flowers to RiverBend: How It Works
We deliver to PeaceHealth RiverBend every day. Here is what you need to know to make it smooth:
- Include the patient’s full name. First and last. The hospital information desk uses the patient name to route deliveries to the correct room.
- Include the room number if you have it. This is not required — the front desk can look it up — but it speeds everything up.
- Specify “PeaceHealth RiverBend” in the delivery address. Do not just write “Sacred Heart” — with the downtown campus in transition, being specific avoids any confusion.
- Order by early afternoon for same-day delivery. Morning deliveries are ideal so the patient has flowers for the full day, but we deliver throughout the afternoon as well.
Restricted areas: most hospital rooms accept flower deliveries, but some units have restrictions:
- ICU / critical care: some ICU wings restrict flowers due to infection control. If you are unsure, call the hospital (541-222-7300) or ask us — we know which units accept deliveries and which redirect to the nursing station.
- NICU (neonatal intensive care): flowers are not permitted in the NICU. If a baby is in the NICU, send flowers to the mother’s room or to the family’s home. We recently wrote a full guide to new baby flower delivery that covers this in detail.
- Maternity / labor and delivery: deliveries are accepted at the nursing station and routed to the patient’s room.
We wrote a fun comparison of the RiverBend gift shop vs. ordering from eugeneflorist.com a while back — the short version is that the gift shop is convenient if you are already there, but if you want more variety, specific flowers, or you are ordering from out of town, a florist delivery gives you more options and the flowers are designed fresh that day.
💭 What the Downtown Teardown Means for the Neighborhood
The old Sacred Heart campus was not just a hospital. It was an anchor for the University District. It brought foot traffic, employment, and a sense of activity to that part of town. Hospital staff ate at nearby restaurants. Visitors stopped at nearby shops. The parking lots, for all their frustrations, kept the streets busy.
With the campus gone, the neighborhood is in a transitional moment. The University of Oregon continues to grow southward. New housing and mixed-use development are likely for the site. The city has been engaged in planning conversations about what the area becomes next.
For longtime Eugene residents, there is something bittersweet about watching it go. It is the building where babies were born, where grandparents were visited, where some of the most difficult and most joyful moments of family life happened. The new RiverBend facility is modern, capable, and genuinely excellent — but the downtown campus had a different kind of weight. It was woven into the neighborhood in a way that a campus on RiverBend Drive, however good, is not.
That said, the teardown is not a loss for medical care. RiverBend is a Level II trauma center with state-of-the-art facilities, and PeaceHealth continues to operate clinics and services throughout Eugene and Springfield. The care is still here. The building is just changing.
🌻 Flowers for Someone at RiverBend
If someone you care about is at PeaceHealth RiverBend right now — recovering from surgery, having a baby, going through treatment, or just having a rough stretch — flowers are one of the simplest and most meaningful things you can send. A room full of monitors and medical equipment feels different when there is a vase of fresh flowers on the bedside table. It feels less clinical and more human. It says: someone out there is thinking about you.
At eugeneflorist.com, we deliver to RiverBend, McKenzie-Willamette, and homes across Eugene, Springfield, and Lane County every day. Same-day delivery when you order by early afternoon.
Browse our arrangements, plants, and gifts. Tell us the patient’s name and room number. We will get it there. 🌻