“The number of people receiving treatment at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center — the renowned research hospital that cares for patients with rare or life-threatening diseases — has tumbled under the second Trump administration, according to government documents and interviews with current and former NIH employees,” KFF Health News’ Rachana Pradhan reported on August 7.
“NIH documents viewed by KFF Health News show a pronounced decline in patients at the 200-bed hospital from February through April, a time that coincides with the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) mass firings of government employees, the gutting of scientific research, and the administration’s broad crackdown on immigration,” Pradhan wrote. “The number of cancer clinical trial participants at the hospital as of July was down about 20% from last year, one NIH cancer scientist said.”
“The numbers ‘really don’t look too good,’ Pius Aiyelawo, acting CEO of the clinical center, said during a May 23 meeting of the NIH Clinical Center Research Hospital Board,” Pradhan wrote. “As of April 30, the average number of patients in the hospital per day had declined by 5.7 percent from the same period a year ago.”
“Adults and children with cancer, people who need bone marrow transplants, and people with rare diseases or infections are among the patients who receive care at no charge at the NIH hospital, according to former officials,” Pradhan explained. “Clinicians there provide potentially lifesaving treatments as part of clinical trials, often to people who have run out of options.”
Furthermore, Pradhan highlighted: “James Gilman, a physician who was CEO of the clinical center from 2017 until retiring in January, said the center has driven important advances against disease ‘that couldn’t have happened anywhere else.’”
“Former officials said the drop in patients this year is a consequence of the upheaval the Trump administration has caused at the NIH, the world’s largest public funder of scientific research,” Pradhan reported. “Current and former employees say an exodus of clinicians, scientists, and other staffers has limited how many patients can be treated. Morale has tanked because of widespread firings and the administration’s cancellation of grants that funded research into health disparities, vaccines, the health of LGBTQ+ people, and more. Contracts have been cut, and scientists have seen delays in getting essential supplies for clinical research.”
According to NIH documents, Pradhan noted, “the drop in patients this year isn’t isolated to people needing inpatient care…As of the end of April, outpatient visits were down 8.5 percent from the same period in the prior fiscal year. The number of new patients overall had declined by 6.7 percent.”
“HHS has fired more than 1,200 NIH employees this year as part of its purge of the federal workforce, but the true number of departures is almost certainly higher. Others have opted for early retirement or quit because they opposed the Trump administration’s orders,” Pradhan wrote.
On August 8, an NIH representative responded to the KFF Health News' article by Pradhan with a post on X stating that the article contained disinformation and was misleading. "Inpatient admissions at hospitals nationwide are in a long-term decline. But there was an abnormal drop at NIH Clinical Center when the Biden administration failed to return back to pre-COVID levels of clinical trials. Our data confirms this, and we’re restoring trial activities to where they should be."
This is a developing story; we’ll provide updates as further developments emerge.
