Grady to close outpatient dialysis unit

Grady Memorial Hospital officials approved a plan on Monday that would close the outpatient dialysis unit and shift the patients to a private care provider.

The Grady board instructed management to draft a contract with Fresenius, a major provider of dialysis services in the United States, with about 60 centers in metro Atlanta.

The plan would close the existing clinic at Grady and shift its 90 patients to a new location by Sept. 14. The financial burden on the patients would not change.

Grady officials said the plan is necessary because the Grady outpatient clinic is old, uses outdated equipment and has lost between $2 million and $4 million a year in recent years. Virtually none of the patients has private health insurance. Many may be eligible for Medicare.

"This was a gut-wrenching decision," said Grady board chairman Pete Correll. "There is no desire to reduce clinic visits. This will provide greater ease of access and better services."

The prospect of closing the outpatient dialysis unit, which provides life-saving treatments up to three times a week to people with kidney problems, has prompted community opposition in the past.

Otis Story, then CEO of Grady, met strong community opposition when he discussed closing the clinic in 2007. Grady leaders later said his handling of the matter contributed to his firing.

The current CEO, Michael Young, has worked hard to convince patient advocates that patients will still receive care. The plan arrives as Grady officials are also considering closing some neighborhood clinics and shifting those patients elsewhere.

Rev. Tim McDonald, a leader of The Grady Coalition, said that while he understands that the hospital needs to save money, he worries that some dialysis patients will fall through the cracks.

"Dialysis is a life and death service," he said. "If you don't get it, you die."

Bert Skellie, another advocate, said he was particularly worried that future patients who need outpatient dialysis would not receive it. Grady officials said the company would position workers at Grady to direct such patients to the dialysis center nearest their home.

Many details of the plan still must be crafted. Essentially Grady would pay Fresenius to handle the patients during a transition period of several months. That cost remains unknown, officials said.