Mount Sinai Gets Transplant Permission

<br>NEW YORK (AP) _ Mount Sinai Hospital has received state authorization to resume live-liver transplants between adults, one year after the death of a donor caused the program to be halted. <br><br>State

Monday, March 24th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ Mount Sinai Hospital has received state authorization to resume live-liver transplants between adults, one year after the death of a donor caused the program to be halted.

State Health Commissioner Antonia Novello signed a letter Friday allowing the program to resume, The New York Times reported Saturday.

In January 2002, the hospital voluntarily suspended the program after a partial-liver donor died from an infection, due in part to inadequate supervision. The state ordered Mount Sinai to suspend transplants while it conducted its investigation.

Under the terms of its agreement with the state, the hospital must pay $126,000 in civil penalties and hire additional staff for postoperative care.

The hospital will now have one nurse for every four patients, rather than one nurse for six to seven patients, a spokesman for the hospital told the Times.

In addition, the hospital has agreed to improve its record keeping, conduct more staff education programs and stop using first-year residents in the liver transplant wards.