WOONSOCKET – The R.I. Department of Health has granted a waiver to Landmark Medical Center that allows the hospital to continue to perform angioplasties but drop its heart surgery program, which has been losing millions of dollars.
The waiver, effective June 1, will make Landmark the only hospital in Rhode Island to offer both emergency and elective angioplasty but not open-heart surgery, which the state had previously considered a necessary safeguard in the event of complications.
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Kent Hospital in Warwick was also recently authorized to perform angioplasties without the backing of a cardiac surgery program – but only in emergencies. (READ MORE) According to Landmark, 31 other states allow angioplasty to be offered at facilities without cardiac-surgery backup.
In a news release, Landmark President Richard R. Charest said hospital officials were “extremely pleased” by the department’s decision.
Landmark’s cardiac program performed about 80 surgeries and 400 angioplasties last year, according to the news release. The hospital, which has been struggling financially for years and reported a $6.3 million operating loss last year, was turning a profit on angioplasty and cardiac diagnostic services, but losing money on open-heart surgery.
When Landmark first got state approval for a cardiac program, including diagnostics, angioplasty and open-heart surgery, it had projected steady growth in the volume of surgeries, with many patients coming from Massachusetts, so by the third year, it could reach the 500-surgery annual minimum required by state regulations.
Landmark never came close to that volume, however, and as the third anniversary of the program approached, state Health Director Dr. David R. Gifford had initiated a review to determine whether the cardiac program was jeopardizing the hospital’s ability to provide comprehensive health care services to the community.
On March 28, the hospital filed a request for the waiver that was granted this week. The Department of Health approved the waiver with several conditions that must be met prior to June 1, including establishing protocols with an ambulance company and establishing transfer protocols with an area hospital that provides cardiac surgery.
Only Rhode Island Hospital and The Miriam Hospital now offer cardiac surgery in the state.
“I want to thank Dr. Gifford and his staff for processing the waiver request in a timely manner,” Landmark CEO Gary J. Gaube said in a statement. “We will work diligently with the director and his staff to satisfy the conditions of the waiver in a manner that complies with the department’s rules and expectations.”
Added Charest: “I am proud of the high level of cardiac care we deliver at the Landmark Medical Center each and every day. It is important to note that this issue was never about the quality of the program, it was simply an issue of volume. We will continue to deliver high-quality cardiac care through our angioplasty and diagnostic services.”
To learn more about Landmark Medical Center, visit www.LandmarkMedical.org.
