NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — Patients at Bon Secours’ Liver Institute of Hampton Roads in Newport News are frustrated after they were told the facility would close and consolidate with another Bon Secours facility in Richmond.

More than 42,000 cases of liver cancer are diagnosed each year in the U.S., and being able to get constant, routine care is imperative. However, that may become more difficult for patients living in eastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina with the impending closure.

Miranda Frazier was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2019 and had a transplant in 2021. She credits Dr. Mitchell Shiffman for saving her life when he spotted signs early on of organ rejection.

“Through the course of treatment, things declined rapidly,” Frazier said. “Dr. Shiffman was there every step of the way. He was able to pretty much describe to me exactly what was going to happen even though I was in denial.”

But after Bon Secours announced recently they were closing their Liver Institute in Newport News and consolidating with the Richmond office, Frazier and other patients will have that much farther to drive, which some believe won’t be so easy.

“You don’t see a hepatologist unless you have issues with your liver,” said David Vest, another patient living in Manteo, N.C. “That additional hour to have to go to Richmond now, they may not be able to make that hour journey a couple times a week.

Vest has been a patient of Shiffman’s for about a year.

“I have a rare disease, a very rare disease,” Vest said. “They’re the only ones who knew how to track it down.”

He said when he asked staff why they were closing, they told him they didn’t know why.

“The only thing I can think of is that Bon Secours management must be making bonuses off of cutting costs,” Vest said. “That’s the only thing that makes sense, I mean, although it doesn’t make sense if you’re cutting costs to close down something that’s actually making money.”

Until they close the office June 30, he said the Liver Institute is the only local facility that specializes in liver issues.

“I’m just, I’m bewildered,” Vest said. “I’m upset. It’s just not right.”

Said Frazier: “I want others to have a great outcome like I did. I want other patients to be able to get a transplant as well and receive the care that I received.”

Bon Secours, in a statement, said it regularly evaluates how best to serve patients “while serving as good stewards of our health ministry and its resources.”

Bon Secours continuously evaluates how best to meet our community and patient needs while serving as good stewards of our health ministry and its resources.

After thoughtful and careful consideration, we have decided to close the Bon Secours Liver Institute of Hampton Roads, effective June 30. To ensure that our patients continue to receive the appropriate level of care, we have proactively shared updates, and we are working closely with them to ease the transition. We continue to offer our support to transition our patients to providers both inside and outside of our network, including transferring medical records and coordinating calls between providers.

Bon Secours is fully committed to supporting our affected patients with continuity of care, clear communication, and ongoing support throughout this process.

— Statement from Bon Secours