Dialysis patients, facilities urged to prepare for emergencies

Published January 25, 2008

Dialysis patients, facilities urged to prepare for emergencies

Preparing for emergencies can mean a lot of work in the best of cases, but dialysis patients have to contend with everything from keeping crucial medicines on hand to finding a dialysis unit with power, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

That is why the department is distributing new information on how dialysis patients can cope with emergencies.

Missouri dialysis facilities are receiving a package of “Ready in 3” resources, according to the department. Those facilities will be asked to share materials with the 5,800 dialysis patients living in Missouri and their families. The resources include a checklist and family safety guide that details important information and Internet tools such as a three-day emergency diet added to its Ready in 3 web site at www.dhss.mo.gov/Ready_in_3.

Adding information for dialysis patients is part of the state’s Ready in 3 program providing information on how to cope with emergencies at home, school and at work.

http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080125/BREAKING01/80125015