DialysisEthics History

DialysisEthics was founded in 1999 by health care workers who noticed a decline in the level of care given those receiving kidney dialysis. Problems in this area of medicine were pointed out and DialysisEthics was a major factor in gaining the notice of those in the highest levels of government and business. From '99 to the present DEO (DialysisEthics) has worked through the site, at meetings and hearings, and behind the scenes to assure the voiceless are being heard. Under the leadership of such people as Arlene Lane and Dr. Kenneth Bays (see Founders' biographies) DialysisEthics gained national attention at the 2000 Senate hearings; patient stories were heard and documents from healthcare workers were examined.  Aiding us over the years have been such influential people as Lawyer/Journalist Carl Ginsburg and Lawyer Paul Kent Bramlett with pro bono advice and encouragement.  Accomplishments of the organization have been:


*The 2000 Federal Senate hearing, which was started by and featured DialysisEthics members, President Clinton allocated more money for inspections. Dialysis workers also became part of the state inspection teams (RNs, etc)


*Verified statistics are now backing up the information on Medicare's "Dialysis Facility Compare"


*Doctors have to review patient charts before they can be reimbursed


*DEO was responsible for getting reports started by the Office of Inspector General and General Accounting Office in 2000 and 2003 on conditions in the kidney dialysis field of medicine


*Current and longtime DEO members were a major portion of a group in Colorado that helped push through a state bill for the certification of dialysis technicians in 2007


*DEO has been responsible for many dismissed, nonviolent patients being returned to their clinics or being accepted by other clinics and hospitals


DEO is now starting a new chapter of the organization. In the past we have been in the forefront of raising the awareness of the challenges those receiving kidney dialysis have faced; we have advocated for individuals when all their options were exhausted – some of the hardest cases imaginable. We still want to continue our proud tradition of patient advocacy, but in this chapter of the organization we will be looking towards solutions, as well as raising awareness.