Trios in Tri-Cities halts oncology treatment program amid cancer doctor shortage

Trios Health in Kennewick plans to temporarily end medical oncology services on Dec. 13 as it works to recruit new medical oncologists.

Trios was staffed with two oncologists to care for cancer patients until one left in July and the other left at the end of August.

Since then Trios has brought in temporary oncologists, or locums, to treat and diagnose cancer patients while it worked to recruit permanent doctors for the program.

But nationwide oncologists are in intense demand amid a physician shortage, making recruiting oncologists to work permanently in Kennewick or as locums challenging.

As a result there have been periodic gaps in provider coverage and Trios expects that to continue.

“Maintaining our program under these circumstances is unsustainable operationally and not in the best interest of our patients who need consistent and reliable treatment,” it said.

Trios is working with patients and staff who are impacted by the temporary halt to services, it said.

Pausing oncology services was a difficult decision, and it continues to work to find full-time cancer doctors to resume and expand oncology services, it said.

One of the two oncologists who left Trios, Dr. Amer Khouri, is now practicing in Prosser, about 35 miles from the Tri-Cities, and is accepting Tri-Cities patients.

Kadlec Regional Medical Center, which owns and operates the nonprofit Tri-Cities Cancer Center in Kennewick, also is serving as many additional cancer patients as possible.

Kadlec, which has five medical oncologists and additional nurse practitioners, set up a triage system this summer to accept additional Tri-Cities area patients with the most urgent needs.

More recently it has added patient navigator and scheduler positions to help triage patients for the cancer center. It also is continuing to recruit physicians and other providers to allow it to care for more patients.

“Our commitment to caring for this community remains steadfast and unwavering,” said Emily Volland, Kadlec spokesperson.

Kadlec has had to pause accepting hematology patients in its hematology and oncology practice, which treats patients with blood diseases or cancer, to allow it to focus on care for additional cancer patients.

Almost half the referrals in its hematology and oncology practice are patients with hematological conditions rather than cancer.

Hematological conditions are usually not emergencies, but rather chronic long-term issues such as low platelet counts or unusual white cell counts that are not cancer, said Dr. Richard Meadows, chief medical doctor in the Kadlec medical group.

The doctors at the cancer center are accepting transfers of patients with active cancer cases that need to be treated, which is done through its triage system with a review of their medical chart.

There are some additional patients with cancer who are receiving palliative treatment, not to cure their cancer but to ease suffering.

Kadlec’s Tri-Cities Cancer Center also has radiation oncologists and has worked to shift primary management of some patients being treated with radiation from its medical oncologists to radiation oncologists, to free up medical oncology resources.

Some cancer patients have told the Tri-City Herald they have sought cancer care elsewhere in the state of Washington.

This story was originally published December 8, 2023 at 10:23 AM.