brenda
Joined: 28 Oct 2002
Posts: 103
Posted: Thu May 15, 2003 8:07 am Post subject: aprnjam----
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Welcome aboard. As others have already said we have been faxing emailing calling whatever it takes to get the word out. Problem lies with the almighty that is so much more important to the lovely establishment that we call our government. My
other Brent. was one of the senate witnesses and was promised protection from any retaliation made by his unit, techs, etc by several of the lovely
ave Senators. What he got was threats, harsh treatment,etc and nothing was ever done even when the Senators were contacted about this. Two of the techs did speak out on what they heard the unit mamger telling the staff to do with him, and both were promptly fired and blackballed never to work in the field they loved so much. This is the reason so many others are afraid to say boo about what is going on with the, It is really a shame that in this country of free speech, one must hold their tongue. If you would like I can send you the speech he wrote, and or send you over to the web page we made in his honer where you can read what he spoke.
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patient
Joined: 29 Oct 2002
Posts: 137
Posted: Thu May 15, 2003 9:25 am Post subject: Brent
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Brenda, Please post Brent's web address so we can all look. I have misplaced over time. Many Thanks to you and your family.
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Jahphia
Joined: 10 May 2003
Posts: 10
Posted: Thu May 15, 2003 10:59 am Post subject: your rights to keep a copy of your run sheet after every run
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in 2000, i left this board with the hearings going on. the industry put a lot of pressure on me.....not only will i never work in the dialysis industry again....i will never work again.....injured beyond repair on the job and slandered for whistleblowing.....all that is past for me now.<
>PATIENTS please use the
http://www.medicare.gov/ website to check on your dialysis center. start reporting these autraucities whenever you can.....also get a copy of each dialysis run for you to keep.....this is your right as a patient. this copy is yours to use as a reference for your billing to report overcharges, and it will probably help the emergency room staff if you get into trouble after your treatments and need care. this is a way for patients to keep record for the federal government to protect you. if you don't give them concrete information of the dialysis industry's poor quality care and fraudulent uses of federal funds, the government cannot stop them. the government wants to help, i am sure, they just need more information. they hear from the industry over and over. in fact, the industry set themselves up for this in 1978 when they convinced the government to pay for their life-saving services. i know keeping track of paperwork is difficult, even for healthy people, but try as best as you can to put the dialysis run paperwork in a file and ask someone to audit it for you with your medicare statement. this industry appears to be crooked in all aspects of their doings so let's chop an axe into every
anch they have on their corporate tree!!!! learn how to read your run sheet...it has important information regarding your health. it has information the federal government requires for them to get paid. the technicians were terrible at logging those stats down....then they would just fill in any blood pressure or body temperature a few days later. this is fraud...this is dangerous for your health. the doctor cannot determine what is wrong with you if you had high blood pressure but the tech put it down you didn't, or your blood levels were faked cuz the tech forgot to complete the paperwork, or logging of the drugs they give you or forgot to give you. (if its not initialed it probably wasnt done--this is serious stuff for your health!!) i dont know if this is still going on, but it was in 1996 and 1997....i witnessed it. good luck to all of you!!
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brenda
Joined: 28 Oct 2002
Posts: 103
Posted: Thu May 15, 2003 8:51 pm Post subject: Brent's Memorial/Web page is
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www.geocities.com/kelseylynn23<
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>Patient----- thanks for your kind words. But it isn't neccesary. I have met so many wonderful people over here and made so many new family members. They have helped us deal with Brent's loss tremoundously. I know he has kept some of us up at night with his push this push that stuff, and probably right now is somewhere with Frank-Kathy-Lois and the others that have moved on, giving us all the strength to carry on......<
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>For those that might check out the site, please understand this was done over a year and a half a go as a gift to my Mom and other
other for Christmas. I have not updated any of the info there since then, and really must do it . So professional it isn't, but it was my way of sharing with others what he was like and how proud I was of him. <
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aprnjam
Joined: 28 Apr 2003
Posts: 85
Posted: Sat May 17, 2003 4:28 pm Post subject: Letter to Representative
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Below is a draft of the letter I promised. I wanted this one to tug at heartstrings, so to speak. Sometimes that gets more action (at least it has been my experience in doing these before). Please feel free to make camments/recommendations for change, etc.<
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>Dear Senator (Name of Your Senator):<
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>I am writing this letter to
ing to your attention that for the marked concern in the way dialysis patients in this country are treated. Maslow?s Hierarchy identifies that all individuals need certain items to survive. The most basic needs are food and shelter, but for the patient in end-stage renal disease (ERSD), there is one more vital need, and that need is dialysis. The dialysis patient is a forgotten and neglected segment of the population that needs your help. Each patient lives in fear of making even the smallest complaint of the treatment they receive in dialysis units for fear of being ?dumped? and then being reassigned to another unit 300 or 400 miles away.<
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>Patients are treated with disrespect by the staff of the dialysis center; their care is done under aseptic technique, putting them at risk for infection and hospitalization for sepsis and possible death from the sepsis. In essence, the care for the dialysis patient is rationed, controlled by the whim of the center. There is no Patient Bill of Rights for Dialysis Center?s, which offer any protection for the dialysis patient. Can you imagine receiving improper care, then being terrified to complain, because you may be ?dumped? and you will not receive your life-sustaining therapy? Not only are Patient Right?s violated, but also are the patient?s basic civil right?s rights.<
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>The list goes on and on. There is poor staff training, high patient to staff ratios plague the industry, worsened by the nursing shortage. Dializers are reused on as many as 50 patients with cleaning filters of the harsh chemicals used for the dialysis process, yet let a patient complain about one of these issues, and they are ?dumped? to another facility.<
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>Not one patient on dialysis has chosen to end up with ERSD and be hooked up to a machine while they wait on list for a transplant. They want to return to work, to return to their lives as they were previously. They don?t want to feel so exhausted everyday that they can barely function. But last but not least, they just want the simple right to be treated as a human being while undergoing this process. Is this too much to ask? Why can?t something be done to ensure that patients on dialysis are treated with respect and have a Patient?s Bill of Right?s. Why can?t they complain about the level of care they are receiving with fear of being ?dumped? and placed in another unit that involves a 10-hour commute three to four times a week. This can be considered rationing of care, and as a patient can not afford the transportation costs, they become depressed and give up before the transplant becomes available, and give up all hope of survival.<
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>Are basic human rights to much to ask for this population? Can?t you help to get these patient?s the care they need and get them back to a viable life where they can once again become productive members of society? Or do you feel that it?s easier to ration
their care and then they become a number that goes away and there is one less person to deal with? What if this was your mother, father, wife, son or daughter? NO ONE deserves to live their life in fear and have their basic human rights violated every time they walk into the unit that is supposedly saving their life while they wait for a transplant.<
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>Think about it! Then do something about it! You are in the position to make the changes for this population! Do it, before we lose more people on dialysis.<
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>Sincerely,<
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Get your Facts
Joined: 18 May 2003
Posts: 1
Posted: Sun May 18, 2003 3:58 pm Post subject: straight Jahphia.....
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The industry must love you as you can't seem to get your facts straight nor do you seem to realize that the discusion area is just that, a place for patients, their families, and medical staff to discuss various topics. You give yourself far too much credit. This has never ment that DEO supports the opinions posted here. <
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>DEO has not taken a stand on this issue. This is a topic that is being discussed and no where can you find anyone from DEO supporting it! What I think would be supported is more $$ for more fequent dialysis for patients but this is not specifically stipulated in the bill so that the companies could not manipulate it into more profit.<
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>Your lack of understanding of the real issues were apparent over 3 years ago along with your false accusations of DEO and the founding staff. It is very apparent that the last 3 years have not been spent in educating yourself of the facts, researching for proof of your accusations, or what is acctually going on in the industry. By making the accusations that you have, you have let yourself become a tool of the industry. Prove your accusations with actual letters and facts and post them here otherwise you are setting yourself up for a libel suit. Start up your own organization and set up your own website. Enough is enough.<
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