Clinics offering dialysis learn from storms

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Clinics offering dialysis learn from storms
Medical personnel more prepared for crisis with each natural disaster

BY DONNA RAE WISOR STAFF WRITER
10-3-07

Cynthia Harmon, 55, needs to be near a dialysis machine. Like 12,000 other Gulf Coast residents, her life depends on it and its electrical power source. Without dialysis, a toxic fluid build up would shut down vital organs and likely cause sudden death within two to five days for most.

So when she had to evacuate for Hurricane Rita, Harmon was, "a little on the nervous side."

"I didn't know which way I was going to go to get treatment," she said. Harmon was not as nervous this time around when Humberto caused power outages and flooding on Sept. 13, thanks to preparation.

As soon as Humberto cleared the skies, Harmon received a telephone call from Dr. Raymond Derderian, director of Fresenius Dialysis Clinic on 3740 Laurel Street.

"We were telling patients to stay put. 'Don't risk your life getting here. We'll call you as soon as you can come in,'"said Derderian.

The clinic was up and run- ning within hours and patients returned to their three-times-a-week routine of three to five hours a day on dialysis. But if an evacuation had been called, the clinic staff felt much more prepared than they did for Rita.

When Humberto threatened Southeast Texas, Jackson had a tanker truck with fresh water on the way and a generator to power up the 30 dialysis machines.

Fresenius Medical Care assisted more than 8,000 dialysis patients, 1,600 of whom were non- Fresenius Medical Care patients, in the wake of Katrina and Rita.

One of the ways that success came about was the clinic's ability to bring in campers and trailers to house staff.

More than 100 of their clinics were affected by the storms, 80 of which were restored to operational status within the first 48 hours. Networking is key when the staff does have to leave.

"We learn with every disaster," said Alysia Jackson, the clinic's manager. "With (Hurricane) Dean, we knew where to look for help."

Fresenius clinics have a hotline. Purple wrist bands are distributed to patients with an identification number that hotline operators can use to obtain patient-specific medical information. There is also a Website that reports the status of all clinics.

"Patients aren't as nervous anymore. Those without family now have a little more sense of confidence," said Jackson.

The hard part is deciding when to leave when a storm is coming, she said.

Should staff need to evacuate?

One of the few things the clinic does not provide is transportation out of town for patients. The, recently formed 2-1-1 Texas Special Transportation Registry can help with that. Citizens who register by calling 2-1-1 before a disaster are placed in a category based on physical need: from needing a ride to someone on life support.

"With Humberto for instance, we had a lot of people calling because they were on oxygen and running low and got into a little bit of a panic. We were able to find information about where they needed to go and who to call," said Kara Stevens of 2-1-1 Texas.

In Jefferson, Hardin and Orangecounties, there are 3566 people registered for transportation to date. During Humberto, Stevens reported more than 1,000 calls from people asking about food, shelter and medical needs.

By dialing 2-1-1, information can be provided in over 90 different languages about eligibility services and state benefits. Also 2-1-1- can be used to report waste, fraud and abuse.

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