UVA, Bon Secours to collaborate on liver transplant care

University of Virginia Health System and the Bon Secours Liver Institute of Virginia will collaboratively care for patients at Bon Secours’ facilities in Richmond and Newport News that may need liver transplants at UVA. The Bon Secours facilities include St. Mary’s Hospital in Richmond and Mary Immaculate Hospital in Newport News.

Under the affiliation agreement, care teams from Bon Secours and UVA will co-manage patients at the Bon Secours Liver Institute of Virginia with liver disease – including those with advanced cirrhosis and liver cancer – who will be evaluated for a liver transplant.

“Our goal is to provide patients in the Richmond and Hampton Roads area who have liver disease with convenient, expert care while limiting their travel time,” said Thomas Auer, MD, MHA, chief executive officer of Bon Secours Virginia Medical Group.

“Through this affiliation, we seek to bring UVA’s expertise to more convenient locations and closer to home for patients throughout the Commonwealth,” said Pamela M. Sutton-Wallace, chief executive officer of UVA Medical Center.

Patients who may be candidates for a liver transplant will receive a preliminary evaluation at a Bon Secours Liver Institute of Virginia location, followed by a formal transplant evaluation at the UVA Transplant Center. Patients determined to be candidates for a transplant will receive ongoing disease management and care from teams at the Bon Secours Liver Institute of Virginia, returning to UVA periodically throughout their time on the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) waitlist.

“During this pre-transplant period, patients can largely remain in their home community and receive coordinated, well-managed care from Bon Secours and UVA to prepare them for a transplant,” said Mitchell Shiffman, MD, medical director of Bon Secours Liver Institute.

Following transplant surgeries at the UVA Transplant Center, patients alternate follow-up visits between UVA and Bon Secours, with care coordinated between the two institutions. Depending on the progress of the patient’s recovery, these visits may be formally transferred to Bon Secours within a short timeframe following transplant. UVA clinicians remain engaged with the patient’s care and are available as needed.

“Following the transplant, we will work closely with our colleagues at Bon Secours to monitor and assist patients as they recover and get back to their regular routines,” said Daniel Maluf, MD, director of living donor transplantation at UVA.

“We believe this collaboration will enable patients to receive high-quality care in a more streamlined way,” said Shawn Pelletier, MD, director of liver transplantation at UVA.