Dialysis Unit Seeking Votes

Dialysis Unit Seeking Votes

By Jason Rodriguez jrodriguez@post-journal.com
POSTED: August 21, 2010

The dialysis unit at WCA wants your vote in order to bring a special award to its patients.

The "Exceptional Performance Challenge" is a contest is organized by Baxter International for users of its Xenium XPH dialyzer. A total of 19 hospitals from around the country are taking part, and the online leaderboard shows WCA is third in a count of votes so far.

"It's all about the patients," said Karen Corrigan, dialysis nurse at WCA. "If WCA wins, Chef O from the Food Network will present a free, two-day educational cooking workshop focusing on dialysis-friendly recipes, conducted here on site for our patients to enjoy."

Chef O is a Special Olympics gold medalist and also a dialysis patient, she said, and he understands how patients really struggle with their special diet.

Contest entrants were required to submit a short video that showed what "exceptional performance" means to your facility. Corrigan recruited hospital technician Joel Marsh to narrate and edit their application.

"It had nothing to do with clinical numbers," she said. "We considered the community aspect of our performance."

She explained the WCA video plays on the culinary theme, and if they are the winner they will have their own special experience with a personality from the Food Network.

"Key ingredients for success are clearly identified on the faces of our patients and staff," Marsh begins in his narration. "Our unit envelopes the philosophy that there can never be too many cooks in this world, and we certainly couldn't do it without the exceptional support of our community."

Voting continues until Aug. 30. The WCA entry and the tally of votes can be tracked at www.xeniumxph.com/exceptional-performance-challenge.

http://www.post-journal.com/page/content.detail/id/564999.html