Spokane — Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center announced Thursday that it is halting its heart transplant program and directing patients to other facilities.

The hospital, which as of 2016 had 34 beds in its cardiac intensive care unit, announced a pause in the heart transplant program following the departure of one of its surgeons.

“There are vacancies in the program. We don’t have the people to do the transplants,” spokeswoman Jen York said. “One of our surgeons is leaving for an opportunity out of state.”

The transplant unit had performed six heart transplants this year. The pause means that 18 patients who are either on the transplant list or on the pretransplant listing phase will need to be transfered elsewhere, York said.

Dr. M. Cristy Smith, who joined the team in 2018 as its

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