Medicare: Fixes to UMC’s transplant program appear sufficient

By Marshall Allen

Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2008 | 12:26 p.m.

Medicare officials said today that University Medical Center has turned around its troubled kidney transplant program — the only one in the state — meaning there is no immediate risk that the program will be closed.

It’s the best possible news for the county’s public hospital and the approximately 200 patients on the waiting list to receive kidneys. And it comes at a dismal time — as other cuts are being announced that will reduce the hospital’s ability to care for the community.

“It’s a real upbeat thing for everyone,” hospital Chief Operating Officer Brian Brannman said of today’s agreement with Medicare.

Officials from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services told the Sun that the hospital has made significant improvements to the program, which was in danger of being shuttered because of too many patient deaths and a lack of a system to improve performance.

Medicare signed an agreement this morning to extend the potential termination date by six months to June 8, 2009. But officials do not seem to think termination is likely.

“We are quite encouraged by the additional steps the hospital has underway and hope that on the other side of this painful experience there will be a substantial improvement to patient safety and quality of care for the residents of Nevada,” said Thomas Hamilton, director of Medicare’s survey and certification group.

UMC recently signed a contract for about $1 million with the University of Utah, which has four surgeons who will rotate their services to expand the depth and skill of the program, Brannman said. The Utah team will work with a surgeon who is already at UMC, he said.

UMC expects to recoup the cost of the contract because all transplants are covered by Medicare or insurance plans, Brannman said.

UMC also put into place a quality assessment and performance improvement program and increased the transplant administrator’s position from part-time to full-time, Hamilton said.

Hamilton said UMC officials have operated in good faith since March to make the changes required to ensure the program meets patient safety standards.

“Prior to our survey and termination actions, we did not see the evidence that kind of investment and attention had been devoted to the transplant program,” Hamilton said. “Now we do.”