St. John officials voice opposition to new cardiac rules

TUMWATER — Speakers opposed to new state cardiac rules outnumbered supporters during a public hearing Tuesday, but St. John Medical Center officials remain concerned about the outcome. “It seems politics are involved and we’ve been pushing that it be decided based on the evidence,” said hospital spokesman Randy Querin after the three-hour hearing. “If it’s (solely) evidence based, we’d feel a lot of confidence.” St. John and other smaller hospitals want the state to allow hospitals without open heart surgery programs to perform elective angioplasties. Currently, smaller hospitals can only perform them in emergency cases, and St. John doesn’t even do that because officials say it’s too hard to keep a doctor for just emergencies. Angioplasties involve inserting a balloon into a blocked artery using a catheter. Often, a mesh... [read full story]