Originally published November 10 2005
Liver transplant program at LA hospital closed permanently after scandal
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles has announced the closing of its liver transplant program after a recent admission by the program's director that doctors violated policy and moved individuals to the top of the receiving list after favors were granted.
St. Vincent Medical Center will close its liver transplant program, weeks after acknowledging that its doctors violated national standards by giving an organ to a man who was not among the neediest patients, officials said.
The hospital made the decision this week because of ongoing investigations, the competitive environment and the challenges of rebuilding, said St. Vincent President and Chief Executive Gus Valdespino.
Additionally, the federal government deal the program a potentially crippling blow by withdrawing its certification in late September, which made it ineligible to receive Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements for liver transplants.
"The resources, the energy, the attention that would need to be devoted to restoring the program, we thought it would be detrimental and would take us away from continuing to focus on the core programs here," Valdespino said.
Valdespino suspended the liver program in September after discovering the inappropriate transplant, which occurred in 2003.
Doctors performed the transplant on a Saudi national who was 52nd on a transplant list that covers much of Southern California and is based on who is sickest and who has been waiting longest.
The 75 patients who were on St. Vincent's liver transplant waiting list will be shifted to lists maintained by other area hospitals.
A lawyer representing former program director Dr. Richard R. Lopez Jr.
An attorney for Dr. Hector Ramos, the former assistant director, has said her client did nothing wrong.
The hospital also suspended two employees who allegedly helped cover up the improper transplant.
St. Vincent is reviewing the liver transplant program to determine whether any other problems occurred.
Investigations also are underway by the state Department of Health Services, the federal Medicare agency and the group charged with administering the national organ transplant system.
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