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Burlington, Vermont - October 6, 2011

It's often called the gift of life and each year 40 to 50 patients receive that gift of a new kidney or pancreas at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington. The state's largest hospital and only academic medical center has been transplanting organs since 1972. But if you were covered by Cigna, the state's second largest health insurer with 85,000 subscribers, you had to go elsewhere because the company did not recognize the hospital's program as a Center of Excellence.

"We had the basic Cigna plan, but we certainly didn't have the Life Source Plan which is their Center of Excellence recognition; basically recognizing living donation and recognizing pancreas transplants. So these are two very essential things," said Dr. Antonio Di Carlo, a transplant surgeon at FAHC.

But with expanded staff, increased volume, positive outcomes and national recognition, Cigna has just awarded the hospital that Center of Excellence designation. For the 20 or so Vermonters who've annually had to travel as far away as Pittsburgh to receive a new kidney or pancreas, it's news long overdue. Frequent visits before and after surgery mean a burden, both physically and financially.

"You develop a relationship with the hospital. You need to be closer to it. We know for a fact that the further that you live from a transplant center the less likely you are to have a transplant," Di Carlo said. "So allowing Vermonters the option to have their care locally is significant. It certainly decreases their financial burden and it makes it easier for them to be-- to have support from family. It is important for Vermonters to have this access of care."

And it's important because the wait time for an organ in Vermont is far less than many other transplant centers around the country; two to three years here, four to six at other sites nationwide. That's why Fletcher Allen's program is now also drawing patients from Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut and elsewhere. They'll join Vermont's Cigna patients who can now stay in their home state for surgery.

In Vermont, there are currently 100 people on the waiting list for both a kidney and pancreas.