Sacred Heart halts heart transplants amid staffing shortage: ‘We don’t have the people’

Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center announced Thursday that it is halting its heart transplant program and directing patients to other facilities.

The hospital, which as of 2016 had 34 beds in its cardiac intensive care unit, announced a pause in the heart transplant program following the departure of one of its surgeons.

“There are vacancies in the program. We don’t have the people to do the transplants,” spokeswoman Jen York said. “One of our surgeons is leaving for an opportunity out of state.”

The transplant unit had performed six heart transplants this year. The pause means that 18 patients who are either on the transplant list or on the pretransplant listing phase will need to be transfered elsewhere, York said.

Dr. M. Cristy Smith, who joined the team in 2018 as its surgical director for heart transplant and mechanical circulatory support, was one of two surgeons performing heart transplants.

Smith “is exploring a new opportunity,” York said. “That’s why we are experiencing a pause.”

Up until Thursday, Sacred Heart had been the primary location for those seeking the most delicate of heart procedures in the Northwest. The heart transplant program is one component of the cardiac care offered by the Providence Heart Institute.

Clinics in Missoula, Alaska, Portland and in Western Washington all funnel patients to Spokane for heart transplants, according to previous reporting.

The only other heart transplant program for adults in Washington is at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle.

Sacred Heart’s patients will either be transferred to Seattle, Providence St. Vincent Medical Center or Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, or University of Utah Hospitals in Salt Lake City, she said.

York noted that any patients seeking heart transplants in Spokane are being transferred to other care partners.

“They are in the process of moving those patients where they need to be,” York said. “Their care will not be disrupted and they will not lose their place in line. We cannot disclose the locations where they are being transferred.”

For patients in the pretransplant evaluation phase, the hospital will continue to provide care and work to transfer referrals for the transplant.

“Providence has a long history of advancing cardiac care in the Inland Northwest, and we remain committed to supporting patients and families with exceptional expertise,” Dr. Dan Getz, Providence chief medical officer, said in a news release. “Our priority is to provide the best possible care for our patients and our community throughout this transition.”

The pause in heart transplants will not affect other cardiology or transplant programs, such as Sacred Heart’s kidney transplant program.

York was not sure when hospital officials hope to resume heart transplants. Sacred Heart started offering the procedure in 1989. The first one was performed by Dr. Timothy Icenogle in 1990.