Iowa hospital halts open-heart surgeries

MercyOne Siouxland Medical Center in Sioux City, Iowa, has indefinitely paused its open-heart surgery program.

In a Jan. 13 statement to Becker's, a spokesperson for the Des Moines, Iowa-based health system attributed the decision to changing demographics, difficulty recruiting physicians to the region and financial pressures.

"MercyOne is facing difficult decisions to secure our mission of providing quality care to our patients," the statement said.

Open-heart surgeries are on pause, though general cardiology and interventional services will continue as normal. MercyOne emphasized the change will not affect care delivery in any other area of the medical center.

Additionally, MercyOne Siouxland is downgrading its trauma center designation from a level 2 to a level 3. The health system said recent changes from the American College of Surgeons have made maintaining its level 2 status "unstustainable" at the Siouxland hospital. Pending a state survey, the hospital's emergency department will shift to level 3 status.

"Patients will continue to receive trauma care in our emergency room and be transported to a higher level of care if needed," the health system said in its statement. 

Per criteria outlined by the American College of Surgeons, level 2 trauma centers must be able to initiate "definitive care for all injured patients." They must provide 24-hour immediate coverage by general surgeons, as well as numerous specialities. Meanwhile, a level 3 center must demonstrate an ability to provide "prompt assessment, resuscitation, surgery, intensive care and stabilization of injured patients," and requires 24-hour immediate coverage only by emergency physicians and "prompt availability" of general surgeons and anesthesiologists. 

Officials shared the changes in an email to employees Jan. 9, which was obtained by local news outlets. According to the reports, a small number of employees are affected by the changes and are receiving career transition support from the human resources team. MercyOne is encouraging eligible employees to apply for other open positions throughout the system.

Copyright © 2025 Becker's Healthcare. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. Cookie Policy. Linking and Reprinting Policy.

 

Articles We Think You'll Like

 

Featured Whitepapers

Featured Webinars