Dialysis in Center or in Hospital ???

[brmoore]

    I am not yet on Dialysis but seem to get the impression that those who get their Dialysis at a teaching hospital receive a better level of care (skill wise, competent techs etc.) than those who go to the private centers e.g. DaVita. As I will have to make this choice very soon I was wondering what your thoughts and experiences are on this subject.
    Right now I get my care at a very large teaching hospital and am very pleased. The only problem is that it's a 35 min drive. There is a DaVita center within 5 min - am I better off at the Hospital or at Davita, or does it make no difference ?
                                                                                                                                        Bruce

[silverhead]

Why risk being dis-pleased by switching to Davita, do a search for "Davita." and you will find far more horror stories than good ones......

[Wallyz]

Non Profits and hospitals tend to attract more experienced techs and nurses, due to worse working conditions and often lower wages at for profit centers. 

I would go with the program that allowed my to dialyze at home.

[iketchum]

I found the hospital to be better. When an emergency comes up or you need blood transfusion the centers send you to a hospital anyways. Your dr. probubly is at that hospital also so he is more available to you.

[lizabee]

I go to daVita and I love it, I have found that my care is actually less than adequate at the hospital (when it comes to dialysis)...I have had no problems with DaVita but encounter rudeness and other stuff when I have been in the hospital

[RichardMEL]

I am in a hospital attached unit (because I live across the road from it!!) and luckily they let me stay(at one point they wanted to send me to a satelite unit like 30 mins away.. but sanity prevailed - mostly because my doctor is the boss in charge of medicine )... they are fantastic all division 1 highly skilled and experienced nurses. I know if I have ANY problem they will sort me out, and obviously I've got all the hospital resources to back them up if something really bad happens(like the other week a guy blue coded).

Some of my nurses moonlight at private units too, so at least here I know if I ever did move and go to a different unit the level of care would probably be similar. Of course my plan is to not move until I no longer need dialysis(in the medium term) so those guys are stuck with me (no wonder almost every session they say they want my transplant to happen now already!!!  )

[kitkatz]

I was surprised I actually like my Davita center. Competent techs, and the person in charge gets things done for patients when asked to.

[Lillupie]

Well where do you or who do you dialyze wtih?

Lisa

Why risk being dis-pleased by switching to Davita, do a search for "Davita." and you will find far more horror stories than good ones......

[Lillupie]

I personally did not know if you had a choice of hospital or center. I get the impression that majority of people who are chronic in need of dialysis are at a center, seperate from the hospital. Those who are in acute renal failure or in need of emergency dialysis are in the hospital.
 EVERY center is ran differently. If you can, check them out first. They usually try to stick you where your doctor is going.

Lisa

[silverhead]

We are affiliated with the Puget Sound Kidney Center (in 3 different cities north of Seattle), it is a non-profit, did a year in-center and now 2-1/2 years at home with NxStage with their home care unit, could not be more pleased. In center we only had 2 occasions of staff problems, but they very quickly acted on our request not to have them take care of Sharon, compared to others I have seen and what I have read here, we are very fortunate, all of them have ice machines and microwaves for the patients, Individual TV's, radiant heaters over the chairs, unlimited blankets if you need them, as many pillows as you may want, and so forth. Not sure in the present economy, but we have always received a $100 gift card each Christmas season, which is gratefully used........
Tom

[Melissa]

I think I would start with the hospital unit....get used to the treatment, see how the drive goes, etc.  Then check out the Davita unit once you feel more confident about what you want.  I think most places are open to letting you check out different units if you are stable. 
I have not had anything bad happen at a Davita unit (went to a few while traveling), but one was very crowded, dirty and there were some unsafe practices.  My first hospital unit was awesome and I now think of it as a "spa".  We had ice, warm blankets, comfortable chairs and a great nurse/tech to patient ratio.  I am now at a private unit at a hospital, so it's better than the Davita ones, but not as nice as my first unit (no ice, no warm blankets, fewer techs and nurses, every now and then something makes me raise my eyebrows...no gloves while taking out my needles?  Come on!) but overall it is one of the better ones I have been to, and the great Docs are right there at the hospital.

[brmoore]

     Right now I am being treated at the University of Virginia Hosp and am really very happy with my experience so far. If I go to DaVita  I can not keep the same Neph team as they only work at the hospital . The hospital offers Nextstage but not nocturnal (right now I really don't think I could stick myself -my Neph wants me on Nexstage).
     The only drawback as I stated was the 35 min drive to the hospital and then trying to find a place to park. There is no parking close to the Clinic and sometimes you may have to walk as much as a half mile (which can be tough if your not feeling well).
     The DaVita unit is less than 2 miles away with easy parking. I'm also a little afraid that if I start at DaVita and am unhappy with them I will not be allowed to return to my Hospital Team.Does anyone know if switching back is usually allowed ?
                                                                                                                                       Bruce

[hurlock1]

I know as little about hospital treatment as I do about Davita. I take my care from Fresenius. Having nothing to compare it to may be a disadvantage. I do know that the facility I go to is 10 minutes from my house. I do know that the people at my center couldn't be more competent or friendly. I hate the hospital. The bigger, the worse.
The only thing I know about Davita is what I read in here. For the most part, it seems that Davita is like a dairy in that the people are run through like cattle. But from my life experience, when I have changed anything concerning something important due to heresay, I have found differences minimal, often worse. One way or the other, if you have ESRD and are going to have to go to dialysis, you're going to have to get your feet wet. Remember the story about the grass being greener on the other side of the fence. . .