The UW Hospital and Clinics' In Vitro Fertilization program, though slated to close by June 30 due to infighting among the program's physicians, will remain open, the UW Medical Foundation announced Saturday.
UWHC Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs Carl Getto said community members and patients spoke voraciously against the decision, announced March 31, to close. UWHC has now returned to a plan two years in the works to move the IVF program to the larger, more private Middleton complex.
The program will provide its normal services, including artificial insemination and IVF, until the new clinic is built.
[The clinic] really isn't very nice space in terms of privacy, in terms of comfort,\ Getto said. ""These clinics are usually ambulatory; they're not usually part of a large tertiary hospital complex.""
The alleged office infighting and tension, including sexual harassment accusations filed by Dr. Elizabeth Pritts against Dr. Steven Lindheim, did not contribute to the decision to move, according to Getto.
""The move was actually planned before the tensions came to light,"" Getto said. ""And, in fact, it would have gone ahead sooner had it not been for those tensions.""
Accusations against Lindheim filed by Pritts included inappropriate touching and sexual comments directed at her and other female medical students and residents.
Lindheim refused to comment Sunday night.
""The tensions are unclear to us as well, and we have to admit that we're not exactly sure what the issues and problems are,"" Getto said. ""We need to investigate those, we need to look into them and obviously we need to resolve them as well.""
According to Jon Sender, spokesperson for the UW Medical Foundation, the UW-Madison doctors' group, the three physicians will continue to work together for the time being.
The program's goal, he said, is to create a ""welcoming and nurturing environment"" that meets patients' high standards.
However, Sender said, ""there are some indications that the tensions between the physicians have at times not created the best environment for patients.""
—The Wisconsin State Journal contributed to this report.
\
