Stricter standards for dialysis workers proposed by SenateThe Associated Press - ATLANTA
Friday, February 09, 2007
Medical staffers who run dialysis machines would be required to meet stricter standards under a bill passed by the Senate on Thursday.
The legislation was approved unanimously moments after a member of the chamber described his father's death from an infection he got while undergoing the procedure.
Sen. Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga, said his father died in 2003 from a staph infection he got while on dialysis after his kidneys failed.
Dialysis is a therapy to remove waste from the blood when kidneys fail and are no longer able to do so.
"At the time, we didn't realize that there were no training requirements for those who provide such a miracle procedure on a weekly basis for people who are hanging on to life," Mullis said. "Who knows? Maybe if there were some guidelines or requirements for training for dialysis workers, that wouldn't have happened."
The plan would require new dialysis technicians to pass detailed training programs for the machines, earn national certification and have at least a high school diploma. They also would be subject to a criminal background check.
The bill creates a state Dialysis Technician Advisory Council to help determine the qualifications and standards workers who use the machines must meet.
The technicians would be overseen by the state's Board of Nursing, said Sen. Renee Unterman, R-Buford, the plan's main sponsor.
The bill is titled the Ray Biddy and Gene Mullis Act, after Mullis's father and a family friend who has become ill after undergoing dialysis.
The bill passed 50-0 and now goes to the House.
URL
http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/ap_newfullstory.asp?ID=87301
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