Read the hospitals' latest filing.
In a filing to state regulators, Waterbury Hospital and Saint Mary's Hospital ask for permission to continue performing certain heart procedures.
The hospitals say ending the procedures could lead to avoidable deaths.
The state Office of Healthcare Access granted the hospitals permission to perform open heart surgery and angioplasty, for three years, beginning in 2005.
The three years are up Saturday, July 19, so the hospitals are asking for a six-month extension.
In their request, the hospitals write that ending the procedures now, could lead to a public health crisis in Waterbury and surrounding communities.
The hospitals say if the procedures are ended, transferring heart patients to other hospitals could significantly impact the availability of ambulance service for the general population. They also say Waterbury-area cardiac patients could have to wait to be transported elsewhere to be treated.
