Dialysis Patients Frustrated Over Clinic A/C Problem

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Dialysis Patients Frustrated Over Clinic A/C Problem

 Jerome Collins  James Gilbert    Created:  7/19/2010 5:50:44 PM 

Winnsboro, SC (WLTX) - We all know the heat can be dangerous, but for some dialysis patients in Winnsboro, that heat is causing an added health concern altogether. Frustrated and looking for answers, they called On Your Side.

For Bridgette Gill, dialysis is the difference between life and death.

"If I'm not taking dialysis, I end up in the hospital," said Gill. Several times a week, she goes to Fresenius Medical Care Dialysis Services in Winnsboro for treatment--until last week.

"Friday, the air conditioning wasn't working, and then again, they notified me around 10 a.m. not to come into dialysis today due to the air conditioning problem," said Gill.

"They had the doors open, they had little fans in there trying to cool us down," said Jo Davis. Davis says her dialysis was cut short because it was too hot inside the building.

The women say the air conditioning problem is nothing new.

"It broke down last year about three times," said Davis.

News19 called the clinic. An employee who did not wish to be identified told us they would have to open early on Tuesday and treat clients before it gets too hot. The employee assured us the air conditioning unit was being worked on.

When News19 arrived at the facility, no one was working on the unit and the office was closed. We left a phone message at FMC's North American Headquarters, but we have not heard back yet.

"If you ain't gonna take care of your patients like they should, and your workers, what's the use?" said Davis.

As for Gill, she's not expecting the problem to go away anytime soon.

"I'm not very confident. They patch, it may work for a while, but then, we'll be with the same problem once again,"said Gill.

We spoke with officials who manage the strip mall where FMC is located. They tell us that, according to the lease agreement, the tenant, FMC, is responsible for the upkeep of the HVAC system, not the building owner.

http://www.wltx.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=90803

[Stacy Without An E]

What a surprise, an FMC clinic not repairing its equipment.  We have one here in town and some of our staff work there part time.  They say the clinic is deplorable, aged, and never very clean.  Someone really needs to expose these for-profit clinics for the penny pinching mindset they seem to adore.