00:00Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for the witnesses for being here. Mr. Massa,
00:04we've heard a lot during this hearing about some of the deeply concerning and frankly unacceptable
00:09incidents that have taken place over the last few years, particularly involving Network for
00:14Hope. I hope your presence on the panel today is an indication of Network for Hope's acknowledgement
00:20of previous shortcomings and your willingness to work together to improve our organ donation
00:26systems for both patients and OPOs. In addition to addressing the pattern of high-risk DCD procurement
00:33practices, HRSA's Corrective Action Plan notes that the OPTN within 180 days is to propose a requirement
00:41for the OPTN to be informed of any requested or triggered pause in procurement efforts if there
00:48is a concern for unrecognized neurological improvement or potential for a patient to experience pain in
00:54the act of procuring organs. It notes that these pauses will be reviewed during monthly meetings.
01:01Mr. Massa, has Network for Hope implemented its own protocols to pause procurement in these cases
01:07currently? First of all, thank you for your questions and your comments. We have. We do have
01:15established huddles and hard stops during the donation process, especially with DCD donors,
01:22to make sure that everyone, we get everybody on the healthcare team together, everybody involved in
01:29that DCD donor. If there's any concerns, they could address them at that time. There are multiple huddles
01:35during that process. Were those protocols in place before the HRSA report came out and their
01:41recommendations? Were those protocols in place? They were. And why were they not followed?
01:46The huddles were followed. It's clear that in many cases, they were not followed, especially because
01:53I know you mentioned that the whistleblower who was allegedly not retaliated against spoke of at
01:59least one instance where the doctor suggested that the procedure stop. Has Network for...
02:06Those were put in place, just to correct, those were put in place after the merger.
02:11Thank you. Why did Network for Hope not document drug overdose as the mechanism of death in nearly
02:1775% of the cases reviewed by HRSA with evidence of patient drug intoxication?
02:22We saw that same report and we are looking at all those and we have boosted our documentation
02:31process. We have additional training on documentation. The question, Mr. Massa, is why were those not
02:37documented? Those happened prior to the merger. I can't really speak to that, but since the merger,
02:43I can tell you our policy is more robust as it comes to documentation.
02:48HRSA points out in their corrective action plan that this suggests that there's a systemic concern
02:53regarding the treatment of potential DCD donors by KYDA staff. How do you explain that?
03:01Again, I can only address the things that occurred post-merger.
03:05What date was the merger, Mr. Massa?
03:07Pardon me?
03:08When was the merger?
03:09October 1st of 2024.
03:12Was the merger a result of this whistleblowers and the findings from this committee, was it a
03:20result of that?
03:22Not at all.
03:23It just followed that?
03:26September 11th, 2024 was the hearing.
03:30It followed that, but it wasn't a result of that?
03:33No, ma'am.
03:34Okay. Given that at least 98 or 30 percent, nearly, of the cases investigated in the HRSA
03:40report involved patients who were intoxicated with opioids, amphetamines, or cocaine, are
03:46there, or should there be, any special protocols in place for when a patient is intoxicated?
03:51Absolutely, and we have those policies in place now, and we are going to abide by everything
03:56that the HRSA recommended in their letter.
04:00Can you understand, Mr. Massa, the concern that we have for the public, given the fact
04:05that the organizations seem to be, and maybe this is not the case, but they seem to be taking
04:10advantage of vulnerable families during their most difficult time?
04:14The HRSA report indicated a troubling lack of care and concern for patients who are potentially
04:20intoxicated by overdose as if their lives are less than.
04:26That is never the case, and yes, we do find those alarming, and we, as I mentioned, I can't
04:33do anything about what happened prior to the merger.
04:35I can't post-merger, and I can tell you those things are going to be rectified.
04:39Thank you very much.
04:40I hope today's hearing will bring clarity on how the failures have happened, what steps
04:45need to be taking place with HRSA, OPTN, the contractors, so that we can ensure that these
04:52incidents never happen again.
04:54I thank you for your testimony today.
04:56I yield back.
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