BOISE, Idaho — A recent Aspergillus mold outbreak at Seattle Children's Hospital is being blamed for the death of one patient and sickening at least seven others.
Because of the outbreak, the hospital's operating rooms have been shut down until further notice.
Seattle Children's Hospital is important for many people in the Northwest. Many patients, including some Treasure Valley families, are referred to the hospital for specialized treatment.
That includes the Butera family, from Caldwell.
In July, Kindra Butera was pregnant with twin boys, one of which had a condition called tetralogy of fallot, a congenital heart defect.
Butera said that twin, John, would need surgery - possibly right after she gave birth. Nobody in Boise performs that kind of surgery so they were referred to Seattle Children's.
So at 34 weeks, she went to Seattle.
“They mentioned that some of the operating rooms had some issues and were closed and if they didn’t operate, [John] would be sent elsewhere,” she said.
Butera wasn't told what the issues were but later found out through the news it was a mold outbreak. When she asked hospital staff about it, she was told "it was being taken care of."
She delivered her twins at Seattle Children's, but the baby didn't need surgery at that time.
Fast forward to October, when baby John was taken back to the hospital for open heart surgery. According to Butera, nothing was said about any possible mold or concerns with surgery. John was put in another operating room to also have breathing tubes taken out.
“I was told today that room was in fact one of the rooms that tested positive [for mold],” she said.
Butera was worried her baby had been exposed and she was frustrated at being left in the dark about the situation.
“It was just kind of vague," she said. "I feel like they should have been more open.
“We just put our trust in them that everything was going to be fine with that factor of it - that it was a clean, sterile place for our son to have his surgery. Now it’s just one more thing we have to worry about.”
A second family from the Treasure Valley also has a personal experience with the situation.
The Billingsley family is from Boise and their nearly three-year-old daughter Kyra has a rare mitochondrial disorder.
Her mom, Breanne, said there are no mitochondrial specialists in Idaho so they too were referred to Seattle Children's.
The family scheduled a muscle biopsy procedure for Kyra this week to learn more about her condition, which is considered terminal.
Because Kyra can't fly, the family made the 500-mile trip by car.
“The first appointment we walk into anesthesia and they’re like, ‘Well, sorry to tell you but your daughter’s surgery is cancelled,'” Breanne said.
RELATED: 'It didn't make sense': Idaho mom says Seattle Children's may have misled her amid mold issues
The family was given no timeline of when the operating rooms might reopen and it would be safe for Kyra's procedure so they headed back to Idaho - another 500-mile trip.
“It would have been nice to inform us a little sooner,” said dad Jesse Billingsley.
Though it was frustrating to make the long trip for nothing, the hospital did tell them the reason for the cancellation was because of possible mold
So they are grateful the hospital was up front with them and their daughter was not exposed.
“I don’t fault the hospital at all, it’s just an unfortunate thing and we are one of the lucky ones,” Breanne said.
Currently, the Billingsley family is looking at options of whether to wait for Seattle Children's to reopen its operating rooms or find another hospital that specializes in the procedure Kyra needs.
As for the Butera family, they aren't sure if baby John has been infected from the mold but Kindra will have him tested to make sure he's okay. She said she hopes the hospital will work with her on that.
The hospital says it is installing a HEPA air filtration system in its operating rooms to try and take care of the issue. It told KTVB in a statement that it expects its 10 operating rooms to be closed until the end of January.
Read the full statement from the hospital:
"Seattle Children’s has committed to providing updated information about the closure of our operating rooms and the expected timing of their reopening.
On Wednesday, Nov. 13, we closed our main operating rooms at the hospital to inspect our air handling system and determine the appropriate corrective actions.
After careful consideration and in consultation with outside experts, we have decided to proceed with the immediate installation of custom in-room HEPA filtration in 10 operating rooms and two equipment storage rooms, and to continue with the planned installation of the new air handling system.
To allow for the installation of the new filtration systems, 10 operating rooms will remain closed until the end of January. The room-by-room installation was previously scheduled to be completed by July 2020, but we have decided to significantly accelerate this work.
Our patients’ safety is our top priority and we remain committed to doing what’s right to keep them safe. HEPA is an extremely effective filtration system that removes more than 99 percent of particles from the air passing through the filter. Installing in-room HEPA filtration requires custom-building a system for each operating room – an extraordinary measure – but one that we know is the right thing to do for our patients and families.
Surgical cases that must be done at Seattle Children’s will be performed in the three operating rooms that already have the HEPA filtration. In addition, we will continue to divert some cases to other local hospitals, including UW Medical Center, Harborview, Swedish and Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, and will perform additional surgeries at our Bellevue Clinic and Surgery Center. We are incredibly grateful for the support we have received and continue to receive from our community partners.
We know this closure will result in the postponement of many surgeries, and we are sorry for the impact this will have on our patients and families. We are confident this is the safest option for our patients."