A lung transplant in the nick of time: How being partners in health saved a life

Sometimes, providing the best care possible for our patients means leaning into a shared care model and understanding we are partners in health with other healthcare systems. In Kil Sawford’s case, his life depended on Intermountain Health’s excellent relationship and communication with the University of Utah lung transplant team.

Kil, a longtime patient at the Intermountain Medical Center (IMED) pulmonary and respiratory clinic in Murray, had been managed by the IMED team for eight years for interstitial lung disease. There’s no cure for this type of progressive lung disease.

But Kil didn’t let that stop him from leading an active lifestyle. After his diagnosis, he went on to run three Ironman races and several local races. Over time, though, even walking from his car to his office became too much.

An important introduction

When he shared this with Peter Crossno, MD, medical director of pulmonary and respiratory care at Intermountain, they agreed it was time to introduce Kil to the University of Utah’s lung transplant team — the only lung transplant center in Utah.

“They told me I was still too early to be put on the lung transplant list,” said Kil. “But it was important because the transplant team knew who I was thanks to Dr. Crossno and his relationship with the University of Utah. Now I was on the radar. Eventually, when it was time to be listed, I just had to catch them up on the last few years.”

Matthew Morrell, MD, medical director of the lung transplant program at the University of Utah, said, “IMED is a standard of excellence for advanced lung disease, specifically pulmonary fibrosis. Whenever patients are failing conventional therapies to help keep their lungs stable, Dr. Crossno gives me a personal phone call to refer patients to our lung transplant program here at the University of Utah. We have a close collaboration with a seamless transition of care.”

After Kil’s initial evaluation with the University of Utah’s transplant team, he continued his maintenance and care with the Intermountain team for a couple more years.

“That’s what we want to be able to do,” said Dr. Crossno. “Transplant is not a single event. Kil was young, active, and able to receive quality care until his transplant. Coordination of care with all the service lines and a partnership between healthcare systems got him the right care right in the nick of time; we were able to walk him through the entire process.”

Kil found himself at a critical point in his disease where he could no longer breathe without large amounts of oxygen and was eventually put on an ECMO machine for eight days.

Providing the full spectrum of care through partnership

Thanks to the initial introductions and pre-planning with the transplant team a few years prior, Kil was able to be listed for transplant within a couple of weeks, as opposed to the typical one to six months. He received a double lung transplant 10 days after being admitted to the ICU.

“It speaks to this partnership we have with Intermountain,” said Dr. Morrell.

Kil, Dr. Crossno, and Dr. Morrell all recognize Kil may not have made it without the timing of Kil’s care and the excellent communication between the patient and both healthcare systems.

“This is the continuity of care that as a system we want to be able to provide,” said Dr. Crossno. “I'm a big believer that we can provide the full spectrum of care for our patients, and I think Kil’s story is a good example of this, even if the full spectrum of patient care involves partnering with other entities. We can recognize and understand our resources. We are partners in health.”

“I will tell you that the care I received was phenomenal,” Kil said. “I’m very grateful for everything Dr. Crossno did for me in getting me the care I needed, and then the seamless transition to the transplant team. I wouldn’t have wanted to get care anywhere else."

Kil is regaining his strength and participating in activities he hasn’t done in years. This ski season, a year to the day of his “lungaversary” — the day of his transplant operation — Kil hit the slopes on opening day to ski for the first time in six years.