Editorial: DOH ruling harms East Pierce’s aging community

When the Washington Legislature instructed the state Department of Health to revamp rulings regarding elective angioplasty, Good Samaritan officials hoped they would benefit from the changes.

After all, for eight years the hospital has been allowed to perform the procedure only in life-or-death situations. If the surgery could be safely delayed another day, Good Samaritan is required to send heart patients to another hospital. This creates a grey area with the potential for a lot of medical risk, something legislators and hospitals would like to avoid.

However, when the Department of Health revealed changes to the rules, which currently permit hospitals to perform elective angioplasty if they can also provide back-up open heart surgery, Good Samaritan was not included. In fact, only two hospitals statewide were added to a list comprised mostly of big city hospitals.

Good Samaritan, naturally, would like to see that rule changed; not just because they are shifting from a community hospital to a regional medical center but because they are the medical hub to an aging community that increasingly needs cardiac care. They have all the pieces in place for a strong cardiac program but fear they won’t be able to keep cardiologists who are not allowed to provide complete treatment.

Good Samaritan officials agree with setting standards, including an approval process to prove capabilities. They are more than willing to oblige. Plus, Tacoma General and St. Joseph’s Hospital are only 20 minutes away, if an emergency follow-up surgery were needed. This would still fall well within the 90-minute zone for ideal cardiac emergency results. However, out of Washington’s 6,665 elective angioplasties last year, only 30 required any emergency surgery.

Two major influences stood in the way of Good Samaritan’s inclusion: 1.) Pierce County was evaluated as a whole rather than breaking East Pierce out as it’s own geographical area with a large population; and 2.) cardiac care can be a cash crop when it’s offered by only a few hospitals and Seattle hospitals seem strongly opposed to allowing other hospital to offer the services.

It’s not only unfair but dangerous to punish East Pierce residents by such restraints. Luckily, the Department of Health will hold a public comment hearing at 1:30 p.m. July 8 in Tumwater. In the past 15 years, only one DOH ruling has been changed, but that was the result of hundreds of objections from the community.