Fresenius Medical Care Provides Uninterrupted Care for Dialysis Patients Affected by Hurricane Isaac
September 05 2012 - 5:08PM
Business Wire
Just one day after Hurricane Isaac moved out of the Gulf Coast
region, leaving behind a trail of storm damage and more than
800,000 people without power, Fresenius Medical Care North America
(FMCNA), the nation’s leading network of dialysis facilities,
resumed treatment for all patients at its 150 affected dialysis
facilities.
Whenever hurricanes, tornados or other natural disasters strike,
FMCNA takes extraordinary measures to help meet the health care
needs of kidney dialysis patients – who require treatment every two
to three days to stay alive and healthy. Ahead of the hurricane,
the company activated an emergency hotline. Operators secured
treatments for patients, and New Orleans-area staff members
traveled to Jackson, Miss. to set up temporary operations to
provide phone lines and electricity for patient communication and
treatment.
Despite their personal struggles in the storm, FMCNA employees
across the region found ways to serve patients. Patient intake
coordinator Regina Barnett evacuated 180 miles from her home in
Metairie, La. Unable to contact her own family, she still worked to
get patients, including other evacuees, the dialysis they needed.
“Knowing that I am a part of helping people get the life-sustaining
care they need, makes me feel better, even when I don’t know yet
about the condition of my own home,” she said.
Howie Ngo, also a patient intake coordinator from Metairie, is
working temporarily in Richland, Miss., where the company has
provided evacuated staff members with meals, emergency cash and
hotel rooms. “I couldn’t believe an employer stepped in like that.
It brought me to tears,” he said. “It’s amazing what this company
will do to make sure that its employees and patients are taken care
of.”
Throughout the ordeal, the FMCNA Disaster Response Team,
assisted by divisional, technical and regional employees, worked
with the Kidney Community Emergency Response (KCER) Coalition and
local ESRD networks to prepare for and respond to Hurricane Isaac.
FMCNA delivered generators, fuel, diesel, bottled water and warm
meals to facilities and employees in need, many of whom were
working extra shifts and overtime. Staff provided extra treatments
to patients who were expected to be affected by the storm, arranged
for all patients whose clinics were closed to receive treatment at
alternative facilities, and provided treatments to patients from
other dialysis companies whose clinics had closed without
alternative arrangements in place.
FMCNA’s natural disaster response plan has been tested and
validated many times in recent years, from Hurricanes Ike and
Katrina to last year’s tornados and floods.
For more information on FMCNA’s natural disaster response
efforts and important tips to help patients prepare for any
emergency, visit FMCNA’s Emergency Preparedness website.
About Fresenius Medical Care
Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE: FMS) is the world’s leading
company devoted to patient-centered renal therapy. Through more
than 3,119 clinics in North America, Europe, Latin America,
Asia-Pacific and Africa, we provide kidney dialysis treatments to
approximately 253,000 patients worldwide. We are also the world’s
leading maker of dialysis products, such as dialysis machines,
dialyzers and related disposable products. Chronic kidney failure
is a condition that affects more than 2.1 million individuals
worldwide. For more information about the company’s more than 2,100
U.S. dialysis facilities, visit www.ultracare-dialysis.com (in
English and Spanish). For more information about Fresenius Medical
Care, visit www.fmc-ag.com or www.fmcna.com.
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