Interim pediatric neurosurgeons at Children's Hospital & Medical Center in Omaha, Neb., are leaving after the first week of March, reports WOWT.
New patients requiring neurosurgery will not be accepted at the hospital, which is expected to impact about 40 patients per month.
Last year nine neurosurgeons resigned from Children's Hospital. They left after informing the hospital's CEO about concerns they had about another surgeon's skill set.
The hospital is in the process of recruiting new neurosurgeons.
In the meantime, neurosurgical cases will be referred to Nebraska Medicine in Omaha, Boys Town (Neb.) National Research Hospital, The Iowa Clinic in Des Moines and Children's Mercy Kansas City (Mo.).
Children's Hospital provided the following statement to Becker's Spine Review:
"As we continue our national search for pediatric neurosurgeons, the interim neurosurgeons who have been serving patients and families here will be leaving in March. Pediatric neurosurgery expertise is rare nationwide, and Children’s is aggressively recruiting from the best around the country with plans to have new pediatric neurosurgeons on staff as soon as possible. Safety is our top priority at Children’s, and we believe we must provide consistent, round-the-clock coverage to deliver the safest, highest-quality care to our patients and families. Unfortunately, there are insufficient interim pediatric neurosurgeons available during this time period to allow us to achieve consistent coverage.
"Therefore, we have made the difficult decision that, after the first week of March, we will be unable to accept new neurosurgery patients. We estimate this change will impact around 40 patients a month. Part of our commitment to safety is also ensuring patients and families have access to the specialty care they need. In addition to communicating this change in staffing with affected parents and guardians, we have developed a list of regional resources for their consideration should their child require neurosurgical care during this interim period. We regret this inconvenience and disruption in care. We will do all we can to make this time of transition as smooth and short as possible for children and their families."
Editor's note: This story will be updated as more information becomes available.