OHSU stops heart transplant program
(SEPTEMBER 2, 2018) Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) is a large hospital in Portland. OHSU stopped its heart transplant program last week. The program at OHSU began in 1985, but its future is not known.
There are no other heart transplant programs in the state. The nearest heart transplant programs are in San Francisco and Seattle.
What is the problem? There are not enough doctors. The OHSU program had four cardiologists (heart doctors). Three cardiologists will leave by September 30. The fourth cardiologist says OHSU broke the law. There was discrimination because she is female, she says.
The news frightens some heart patients. Some are on the waiting list for new hearts. They do not know what will happen. For example, Dianna Howell says, "I don't know if I'm going to live or die."
Karol, Gabrielle. “Former OHSU Cardiologist Sues for Gender Discrimination.” KOIN, KOIN, 17 May 2018, https://www.koin.com/news/oregon/former-cardiologist-sues-ohsu-for-gender-discrimination/1183958719. Accessed 2 Sept. 2018.
Labrecque, Jackie. “OHSU Ends Heart Transplant Program ‘until Staffing Needs Are Met.’” KATU, 31 Dec. 2017, https://katu.com/news/local/internal-memo-providence-will-care-for-ohsu-heart-patients-in-short-term. Accessed 2 Sept. 2018.
"OHSU Hospital ER Entrance, Portalnd, Oregon" By M.O. Stevens [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons
Sparling, Zane. “OHSU Suspends Only Hearth Program in Oregon.” Portland Tribune, 1 Sept. 2018, https://portlandtribune.com/pt/9-news/405122-302984-ohsu-suspends-only-heart-transplant-program-in-oregon. Accessed 2 Sept. 2018.