As the founding director of the new USC Transplant Institute, Cynthia Herrington is working to integrate different organ transplant programs into a seamless administrative unit that will ultimately improve patient care.

"Transplantation is not something we do to improve someone's lifestyle," she says. "This is something we do because the patient is dying. All of our transplant patients are dying-- that's why they need the transplant."

Herrington, who came to USC from the University of Minnesota in 2009, is associate professor of clinical cardiothoracic surgery at the Keck School of Medicine and surgical director of pediatric thoracic transplantation at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.

USC has a long history of organ transplantation at both USC University Hospital and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. Currently, USC offers transplantation for heart, lung, liver, kidney and pancreas.

Administration of those organ-specific programs had been run separately for years, but at a physician retreat held by Keck School Dean Carmen A. Puliafito in 2009, discussions arose about the possibility of integrating the practices. With the university's acquisition of USC University Hospital and USC Norris Cancer Hospital in April 2009, clinical leaders carefully examined how different programs could be strengthened and patient care improved.

"We were operating in silos," Herrington says. "Each program operated independently of other programs, and there was a loss of collaboration... It really just made sense that in the process of the rebirth of these hospitals, this program would be getting some attention and some changes would be made."

An idea that began a slow rise in popularity about 10 years ago, the institute model has gained momentum recently for transplant programs. By combining administrative functions that are applicable across the different organ transplant systems, the institute model promises increased efficiency, better communication among physicians, more timely response to patient needs, and, ultimately, better patient care.

Coordinating business and administration aspects of the institute is the job of transplant administrator Mike Donnell, who has extensive experience in the management and organization of transplant programs. Donnell emphasizes the overall care offered at the USC Transplant Institute.

"We should be recognized as an organ disease management center," he says. "Transplantation is just the end treatment of that care continuum, and really, a very miniscule number of the total population ever gets to transplantation. The fact is that there is an organ shortage, so for us, the real win is if we can intervene earlier and keep those patients from ever needing a transplant."

As the USC Transplant Institute continues to grow and develop, Herrington expects great things to happen, such as an increase in the number of transplants performed and the addition of a larger research component. But she is adamant that the institute is building on already strong transplant programs at USC whose outcomes are a testament to the hard work and determination of the staff and physicians.

"A lot of the care and talent was already here," says Herrington. "The surgeons are amazing here and the medical doctors are amazing, and the staff that takes care of the patients, the coordinators, it was all here. This is going to create an infrastructure and bring everyone together so we can take that next step to be an even larger and even better program."