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Proper Disinfection Practices Can Eliminate The Spread of Ebola

2024-03-28T21:06:23-04:00December 2nd, 2014|Categories: Dialysis, eNews, Lifestyle|Tags: |

Dialysis facilities have infection control policies and procedures in place to protect their patients and staff from coming in contact with any blood borne diseases, but diligence in following those policies and procedures is imperative to protect us all. Dialysis staff are instructed to treat all patients with standard precautions. These include gloves, masks over the nose and mouth, shields or goggles for eye protection and waterproof gowns whenever there is risk for exposure. Staff should wash their hands and change gloves between every patient to reduce the risk of transmission of any infectious material, in particular blood.  You should always [...]

Setting up Your Home Dialysis Unit without Feeling like You’re Living in an ICU: Tackling the Storage Problem

2024-03-28T21:06:29-04:00May 28th, 2014|Categories: Home Hemodialysis|

By Linda Gromko, MD and Jane C. McClure, Interior Designer When Linda and her husband, Steve Williams, brought Steve’s dialysis machine home, they felt reasonably confident about the mechanics of home dialysis. But the next day – when sixteen cubic feet of dialysis supplies arrived, they felt overwhelmed! After all, who has even one extra storage closet just waiting to be used? How could they incorporate all this “stuff” into their already busy household? Sound familiar? (Now, it’s true that the newer procedure of preparing dialysate from tap water and storing a couple of batches under the machine will minimize the sheer quantity [...]

Setting up Your Home Dialysis Unit without Feeling like You’re Living in an ICU: Designing Your Home Dialysis Unit

2024-03-28T21:06:31-04:00April 10th, 2014|Categories: eNews, Home Hemodialysis|

By Linda Gromko, MD and Jane C. McClure, Interior Designer This is the third of a four-part series on “Setting Up Your Home Dialysis Unit Without Feeling like You’re Living in an ICU!” We’ve already covered “Top Ten Considerations,” and “Setting Up with Safety First.” In this entry, we discuss the very basics of setting up your unit. Next time, we’ll address storage! The whole process of dialyzing at home can be daunting at first, but the benefits are well worth the effort. Dialyzing at home can provide the ultimate in personal flexibility – plus, more dialysis and more frequent dialysis [...]

“Fistula First” Keeps Life-saving Options Open!

2024-06-07T11:46:42-04:00July 2nd, 2013|Categories: Blog, Hemodialysis|

Linda Gromko By Linda G., M.D. — Guest Blogger Check Out Recent CDC Recommendations on Reducing Infections The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced in May 2013 results from a multi-center study on prevention of bloodstream infections in dialysis patients. The problem is enormous: during the study, 37,000 infections occurred in dialysis patients with central lines, at a cost of over $23,000 per admission. Dialysis patients also have a greater risk of contracting infections with resistant bacteria such as MRSA – and developing accompanying complications such as endocarditis (heart valve infection) and osteomyelitis (bone infection). Not [...]

Are You Cut Out to Do Home Dialysis?

2024-03-28T21:06:48-04:00April 8th, 2013|Categories: Blog, Home Hemodialysis|

By Dr. Linda Gromko, MD, Guest Blogger Hi my name is Dr. Linda Gromko and I am a Seattle family practice physician who assisted my husband Steve Williams with both hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis for three-and-a-half years before his death in April 2011. In coordination with interior designer Jane C. McClure, I wrote Arranging Your Life When Dialysis Comes Home: “The Underwear Factor’ and two other books about my family’s experience with ESRD. Last month, I discussed the advantages of doing dialysis at home. There’s no doubt that home dialysis – both hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis – offer the opportunity for [...]

Arranging Your Life When Dialysis Comes Home

2024-03-28T21:06:51-04:00February 26th, 2013|Categories: Blog, Home Hemodialysis|

By Linda G, Guest Blogger Hi my name is Linda Gromko and I am a a Seattle family practice physician who served as my husband’s Care Partner in both home hemodialysis and home peritoneal dialysis for several years before his death in 2011. I am a strong advocate of home dialysis, and I have co-authored “Arranging Your Life When Dialysis Comes Home: The Underwear Factor” with Interior Designer Jane C. McClure. I also wrote “Complications: A Doctor’s Love Story,” and “Let Me Go When the Banter Stops: A Doctor’s Fight for the Love of Her Life.” I wanted to share my [...]

Financial Coverage for Peritoneal Dialysis

2024-03-28T21:06:52-04:00February 4th, 2013|Categories: Costs for Treatment, eNews, Peritoneal Dialysis|

There are several options to pay for your dialysis treatments including insurance through your employer or other private health plan, Medicare, Medicaid and through military health programs. The Medicare program was designed to be available to anyone who was born in the US, a permanent and legal resident for 5 years, or the spouse of an individual who paid Medicare taxes for at least 10 years.  People with end stage renal disease (ESRD) or those who needed a kidney transplant regardless of age (as long as they met the residency requirements) qualify for Medicare. Some individuals are considered dual eligible [...]

Treatment Options for Pediatric Kidney Disease

2024-03-28T21:06:57-04:00January 4th, 2013|Categories: eNews, Hemodialysis, Kidney Transplant, Pediatric Kidney Disease, Peritoneal Dialysis|

Children with kidney failure have a few options to choose from, depending on the severity of their disease.  The primary goal is to have a successful transplant, however viable kidneys are not always available and some children are not strong candidates for transplants. In some cases a nephrectomy is a solution that can make childhood disease easier to manage. In most cases parents choose home dialysis options either home hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis. Transplants In adults, most transplanted kidneys come from donors who have just perished. However, about half of the kidney transplants in children come from a living donor, usually a [...]

Albumin and Chronic Kidney Disease

2024-03-28T21:06:59-04:00January 4th, 2013|Categories: eNews, News & Events, Nutrition, Peritoneal Dialysis, Staying Healthy|

What is albumin? Albumin is a protein, found in animal sources such as meats, milk-products, and eggs. It is also found in plant sources such as beans, nuts, and seeds. Albumin provides the body with the protein needed to both maintain growth and repair tissues. It can also help with fluid removal during the dialysis treatment. If your albumin level is good, fluid will move more easily from swollen tissues into the blood, where it can then be removed by the dialyzer. For dialysis patients, the preferred range for the serum (blood) albumin is 4.0 g/dl or greater. What can cause your Albumin level to drop? [...]

What is Dialysis and Chronic Kidney Disease?

2024-03-28T21:07:01-04:00January 4th, 2013|Categories: Early Intervention, Fact Sheet, Peritoneal Dialysis, Symptoms, What Causes Kidney Disease|

It is estimated that more than 31 million American adults have chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, a survey done by the National Medical Association and Amgen shows that most adults know very little about the symptoms or treatment of the disease. How can people be so unaware of a disease that affects so many? Like diabetes and high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease is called a “silent killer” because there are few symptoms and by the time a person realizes they have a problem, much damage has already been done. By sharing information you can help save lives. Because chronic kidney disease happens over [...]

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