DES MOINES, Iowa — MercyOne Medical Center is cutting ties with its current partner for anesthesia services, Medical Center Anesthesiologists.

An email sent to MercyOne staff from Chief Medical Officer Dr. Dennis Szurkus, and provided to WHO 13, said, in part: “As our TogetherCare / Epic Go Live is quickly approaching on May 31, we have identified an operation imperative to transition to a new partner for anesthesiology in Des Moines.”

According to its website, Medical Center Anesthesiologists, P.C. has been providing the Des Moines community with anesthesia-related services for over 50 years. The group is made up of more than 40 physicians and many CRNAs (certified registered nurse anesthetists). They provide anesthesia services to patients at five area surgical sites, as well as see patients for comprehensive pain management services at four different locations around the metro area.

We’ve reached out to Medical Center Anesthesiologists for a comment on the situation, but have not heard back.

No details on the reason for the change or the timeline were given regarding the new partnership.

MercyOne provided the following statement to WHO 13 News: 

“MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center is committed to providing exceptional care and experience to our patients. Following extensive discussions with Medical Center Anesthesiologists (MCA), it has become necessary to transition to a new partner for anesthesia services in Des Moines. We welcome MCA clinicians to continue to provide services through a new relationship. This transition will allow us to hold true to our commitment to recruiting and investing in surgical services to achieve our patient safety, care, growth, and Mission goals. We have enjoyed the longstanding service from and partnership with MCA and the expertise they have provided our patients and colleagues and welcome their continued relationship with us through the new partnership.”

Public Relations Lead Alex Carfrae, MercyOne