Although the holidays are traditionally a time of joy and celebration,
the pace of the season can be stressful for kidney failure patients who
depend on frequent visits to the dialysis clinic for life-sustaining
treatments. For those seeking a less hectic environment in which to
receive treatment, Fresenius
Medical Care North America (FMCNA) recommends patients consider home
dialysis.
Fresenius Medical Care North America operates more than 900 home therapy programs across the country. Many patients find home dialysis treatments provide greater schedule flexibility. Additionally, home dialysis patients may experience health benefits - including fewer dietary restrictions and better blood pressure control with less medication. (Photo: Business Wire)
This holiday season, FMCNA, the nation’s leading network of dialysis
facilities, is launching the Home
for the Holidays initiative, a nationwide effort to increase
awareness of home dialysis, and the company’s UltraCare
at Home® program, which provides patients with continuous
home dialysis education, training and monitoring, as well as
round-the-clock clinical and technical support.
Many patients find it more convenient and less stressful to undergo
dialysis in the comfort of their own homes, making it easier to schedule
treatments around jobs, exercise, hobbies and other activities. Home
dialysis patients may experience health benefits – including fewer
dietary restrictions and better blood pressure control with less
medication. Home treatments also eliminate the need to arrange
transportation to and from the dialysis clinic three days a week.
Henry Jackson of Selma, Ala., enjoys the flexibility of home dialysis,
which allows him to travel frequently without scheduling dialysis clinic
treatments along the way. “My wife and I love to travel,” he says, “and
it’s really easy for us to just pack up my equipment and go. In fact,
we’re planning trips to Tennessee and Florida for early 2014.”
FMCNA has seen a 150 percent increase in home dialysis patients during
the past five years. To accommodate this growing demand, the company now
operates more than 900 home therapy programs, 84 of which are free
standing support centers dedicated entirely to home dialysis patients.
All of FMCNA’s Certified Home programs teach patients and their
caregivers how to administer dialysis treatments at home, and offer
additional support as needed. These full-service facilities also offer
assistance with scheduling vascular
access placements to help new patients make smooth transitions onto
home dialysis.
“We’re committed to educating patients about the advantages of
home dialysis,” said Keith Lester, FMCNA’s vice president of home
therapies. “We believe that every patient who wants to dialyze at home
should be given the option. While it may not be suitable for everyone,
many patients experience a significant improvement in quality-of-life by
receiving their dialysis treatments at home. Patients may dialyze at
home, but they are never alone, as we provide support every step of the
way.”
Dialysis is a process that cleans waste products and removes extra
fluids from the blood when a person’s kidneys fail. Dialysis patients
typically require treatment on an ongoing basis unless they receive a
kidney transplant. Home dialysis treatments include: hemodialysis,
which uses an external filter to remove extra fluid and wastes from a
patient’s blood; and peritoneal
dialysis, which circulates a cleansing dialysate fluid through the
patient’s abdominal cavity to draw toxins out of the blood through the
body’s thin peritoneum membrane.
For more information about FMCNA’s “Home for the Holidays” program,
visit: http://www.ultracare-dialysis.com/FreseniusMedicalServices/UltraCareAtHomePrograms/HomeForTheHolidays.aspx
About Fresenius Medical Care North America
Through our leading network of more than 2,150 dialysis facilities in
North America and our vascular access centers, laboratory, pharmacy and
affiliated hospitals and nephrology practices, Fresenius Medical Care
provides renal services to hundreds of thousands of people throughout
the United States, Mexico and Canada. We are also the continent’s top
producer of dialysis equipment, dialyzers and related disposable
products and a major supplier of renal pharmaceuticals.
For more information about the company, visit www.fmcna.com;
for information about patient services, visit www.ultracare-dialysis.com.
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