This seems pretty unfair to me. It doesn't cost the hospital any more if two people are watching TV instead of one, this seems like a case of taking advantage of a captive audience. the hospital's email address is patientrelations@niagarahealth.on.ca
http://www.niagarafallsreview.ca/2013/06/06/dialysis-patients-bugged-by-hospitals-tv-feesDialysis patients bugged by hospital's TV fees By Marlene Bergsma, The Standard
Thursday, June 6, 2013 7:04:23 EDT PM
ST. CATHARINES - Dialysis patients at St. Catharines’ new hospital say the fancy new TV and Internet system is great, but many of them can’t use it because they can’t afford to pay for it.
The flatscreen monitors on flexible arms suspended over each dialysis station offer TV, premium TV and Internet access, but it costs $3 for four hours of basic TV, $5 for premium TV and $6 for premium TV with Internet.
“That’s $100 a month,” said Allanna Kernahan, whose husband, John, visits the hospital for dialysis five days a week.
John Kernahan, a former city engineer for the City of St. Catharines and general manager of the Niagara Parks Commission until his retirement in January 2013, said he has a comfortable pension and can afford to pay for the daily four-hour TV and Internet connection.
But the Kernahans spoke up up on behalf of other dialysis patients who have lost their jobs and are living on meagre disability pensions, John said. “We can afford it, but it’s the principle,” Allanna said.
“People can’t even afford a cup of coffee, and they are sitting in that chair for hours. This is crappy treatment.”
Chemotherapy patients must pay for TV, too, but their treatment eventually comes to an end, she pointed out.
“Dialysis patients are on it for the rest of their lives, there’s no light at the end of the tunnel,” she said.
“You’re on it until you get a transplant, or you don’t,” agreed Karl Poirier, who has been a dialysis patient for 12 years and who spearheaded a petition against the new fees with his wife, Rosemary.
The Poiriers are trying to submit the petition, with close to 70 names on it, to acting Niagara Health System CEO Sue Matthews.
Allanna said the payment system is maddening because it’s a minimum four-hour block that can’t be transferred and can’t be saved.
“A lot of patients fall asleep, but they can’t carry the unused time,” she said. And some patients might want to pay for a shorter period of time, say an hour, but are required to pay for a four-hour minimum.
“It’s just a cash grab for the new hospital,” said Carlos Garcia, whose wife, Faye, receives dialysis twice a week. The Garcias can also afford to pay but are refusing to purchase, on principle.
Charging them “is just so incredibly unfair,” Garcia said.
“Most of these people have nothing else to do to pass the time, and TV is like medicine for them.”
Allanna Kernahan said dialysis interrupts people’s powers of concentration and makes it difficult for them to read.
Poirier said patients were allowed to use the new TVs for free for the first few weeks, “and everybody thought they were great. But nobody said we had to pay for them.”
Poirier said he tried to keep working after his kidneys failed, but dialysis wore him out. He was forced to give up his job and their house, and now they live on Canada Pension assistance and his wife’s part-time wages.
“My pension is $835 a month and rent is $840 a month,” he said.
The hospital’s fees for TV add up to “more than I pay for cable at home, and I get lots of channels.”
Angela Zangari, chief financial officer for the NHS, said she sympathizes with the patients’ complaint.
She said the NHS recognizes dialysis patients are in an unusual situation, and is charging them less than half of what other patients are paying for the same service. It is also giving them discounted parking.
She said the new TV system is meant to provide better options for patients, and the hospital is offering it on a “cost-recovery basis.”
“We are deeply empathetic to the needs of our dialysis population,” Zangari said. “We strive for a positive patient experience and we are all very sad that they are not feeling that right now.”
Zangari said the hospital introduced the new technology as a benefit to patients, but the cost “is quite expensive and we are trying to break even.”
She acknowledged there have been numerous complaints lodged with patient services about the new fees, and senior hospital administration has been meeting to discuss the issue.
“One thing we are looking at is seeking donations to offset the cost,” Zangari said, “from a company or foundation.”
She said the patients’ suggestion to allow customers to carry unused time forward to another day “is an excellent idea, and they have our commitment that our senior team will look at it.”
She said the NHS will also find out what other hospitals do and will be “crunching some numbers.”
The dialysis patients say they are grateful for the discounted parking they receive at the new hospital, because they have to be there so often. But the TV charges still rankle.
“Some people have lost their jobs, have lost their farms because of dialysis,” Allanna said.
“This is just another kick in the butt.”
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