Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1057097
37 HEALTHCARE NEWS OHSU suspended heart transplant program indefinitely By Alyssa Rege P ortland, Ore.-based OHSU's heart transplant program will remain inac- tive until the program's staffing needs are met, system officials said in a prepared statement. OHSU announced Aug. 28 it had temporarily suspended its heart transplant program for at least 14 days, citing staffing shortages as four heart failure transplant cardiologists on the institution's team had le or plan to leave by the end of September. All other OHSU heart transplant program team members continue to provide cardiovascular care and support. e institution told Becker's Hospital Review Sept. 1 heart failure transplant cardiologists Jonathan Davis, MD; James Mudd, MD; and Divya Soman, MD, le the hospitals Sept. 30, while Jill Gelow, MD, departed OHSU several months ago. In their prepared statement, OHSU officials said they have notified the United Network for Organ Sharing System and CMS of their decision to extend the program's suspension. Officials also said all 20 patients on the pro- gram's waitlist either have transition plans in place or have elected not to transfer to other institutions. e five candidates for transplant evaluation have also met with OHSU officials to discuss their options for care. OHSU is in the process of notifying patients by phone and letter of the program's extended inactivation. e system's liver, pancreas, kidney and bone marrow transplant programs are not affected by the decision. "OHSU has been diligently working to re- build our heart transplant program. We are actively recruiting new heart failure and heart transplantation specialists. For confidential- ity reasons, OHSU cannot disclose whether we have candidates in any stage of recruit- ment, and we cannot communicate about any imminent appointments until contracts are signed. We will continue to be transparent about our progress as we work to reactivate the program as quickly as possible," the sys- tem said in its prepared statement. n Apple is hiring for its health business By Jessica Kim Cohen Apple is seeking an engineering manager to support its health business. The open position, posted to Apple's website Aug. 30 and titled "Knowledge Engineering Manager - Health," targets engineering managers with a background in health data, including at least two years leading software engineering, data science or clinical informatics teams. The job listing highlights Apple's preference for candi- dates with experiences in health standards, medical cod- ing systems and health knowledge representation, such as graph databases and deep relational data modeling. Apple doesn't note what unit the engineering manager will join — only that they will lead a team working on "an exciting project" to "ensure we continue innovating in a rapidly changing field." "This is a great opportunity to empower people to im- prove their health," the job listing reads. "The ideal can- didate enjoys breaking down complex problems, thrives in an agile and dynamic cross-functional team, loves data, and wants to make a big impact on health." In recent months, Apple has ramped up its health records project, an effort to integrate patient health records into the iPhone's Health app. In August, the company closed enrollment for the Apple Heart Study, a joint heart rhythm research project with Stanford University School of Med- icine in California and telehealth vendor American Well. Apple also has a number of rumored projects. A patent application made public in June suggests the tech giant may soon offer a wearable device that monitors blood pressure, for example. The new job listing mirrors a similar post the iPhone mak- er released in April, seeking a "Clinical Health Insights iOS Engineering Manager." For the clinical health insights position, Apple said it sought an engineering manager who has "a strong atten- tion to detail, thrives in an agile and dynamic cross-func- tional team, loves data, enjoys building teams and men- toring engineers, and wants to make a big impact on health." n "OHSU has been diligently working to rebuild our heart transplant program. We are actively recruiting new heart failure and heart transplan- tation specialists." - OHSU system officials