Programs to consolidate

There aren't enough Southern Nevadans in need of a kidney transplant to support two competing transplant programs, according to health officials.

As a result, starting July 1, Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center no longer will offer kidney transplants, and its program will fold into University Medical Center's, officials from both hospitals said Wednesday.

The increase in transplants at UMC is expected to improve the hospital's program, said Kathy Silver, UMC's chief executive officer.

Officials hope the improvements will help UMC become a center of excellence capable of also offering heart and liver transplants.

Only kidney transplants are offered in Nevada. Patients in need of other organ transplants must travel to out-of-state centers such as the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz., or UCLA, officials said.

At Sunrise Hospital, which has offered kidney transplants for nearly two decades, merging its program with UMC's will allow it to focus on its pediatric and adult cardiology programs, neurology and robotic surgery, said Sylvia Young, the hospital's CEO.

Because of the small number of kidney transplants performed in Southern Nevada -- 26 at Sunrise last year and 40 at UMC -- Sunrise officials said it made sense to consolidate the programs.

"Las Vegas is not large enough to support two programs," said Young, who added that the move will not hurt the hospital financially.

Sunrise has notified patients awaiting transplants about the consolidation, Young said. The hospital's transplant surgeons also have privileges at UMC and will continue to care for their patients at the county-run hospital, she said.

As of Wednesday, 262 people were awaiting kidney transplants in Nevada, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing. Ken Richardson, executive director of the Nevada Donor Network, said about 200 other patients are awaiting heart, liver and other transplants.

"As the population grows and ages, there is going to be a need for more transplant services in Southern Nevada," Richardson said. "That's what this merger is all about."

Silver said the transition will not affect where a patient is on the national transplant list.

Clark County Commissioner Rory Reid called the collaboration between UMC and Sunrise an example of how the public and private sector can work together.

"By growing UMC's transplant program, we are able to continue to care for the more acutely ill and are better positioned for future growth of critical programs,'' he said.

Before UMC can expand to offer liver and heart transplants, it must gain center-of-excellence status from insurance carriers for its kidney transplant program.

The number of procedures and the outcome help a hospital gain that distinction, said Dr. Lisa Latts, vice president of programs and clinical excellence for Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield.

"What we're looking for ... because transplants are very dangerous, is assurance that our members are going to the best place," Latts said.

To reach that status, Silver said, UMC needs to perform 50 kidney transplants each year for the next three years and with good outcomes. Silver said she is "very optimistic" that liver transplants will be offered at UMC in the future.

Richardson would not speculate on the future demand for liver transplants in Southern Nevada because of the recent hepatitis C outbreak, but he said he hopes the service will be offered at UMC within the next three years.

"We have 180 people in Nevada on the liver transplant list," Richardson said. "Those people have to travel out of state once a liver is available to them. It would be nice if that service was here."

Contact reporter Annette Wells at awells@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283.