Cleveland-based University Hospitals announced April 10 James Goldfarb, MD, division chief of reproductive endocrinology and infertility for UH, will depart from his position as head of the UH Fertility Center, according to Fox 8 Cleveland.
"[Dr. Goldfarb] will now focus on coordinating all UH Fertility Clinic patient care to assure we are effectively supporting the clinical needs of our patients," a spokesperson for University Hospitals told Becker's Hospital Review April 10.
The spokesperson said UH asked James Liu, MD, chair of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at UH, to head the fertility clinic lab.
The UH Fertility Center, housed within the Beachwood, Ohio-based UH Ahuja Medical Center, was at the center of controversy last month after a storage tank malfunction affected approximately 2,000 eggs and embryos. However, an update by the health system said the incident affected 4,000 eggs, roughly twice the number initially reported.
In a copy of the letter UH sent to the estimated 950 patients, officials said the incident was the result of an employee error in which the alarm on the tank designed to alert employees to temperature variations inside the tank was switched off. The health system also noted UH was aware the tank holding the embryos had not been working for several weeks.
"In addition to our equipment upgrades, including new tanks, alarms, surveillance and remote monitoring systems, we have added additional staff to accommodate increased patient volume," the spokesperson told Becker's.