Grady Memorial Hospital has reached an agreement with a national dialysis provider to resume crucial regular treatments for nearly two dozen former patients -- most of them uninsured, illegal immigrants, a hospital spokesman said Wednesday.
The immigrants were cut off from regular care last week when a $750,000 contract between Grady and Massachusetts-based Fresenius Medical Care to provide dialysis for the patients for a year expired.
The details of the new deal -- including the amount Grady will pay and length of time it will cover -- have yet to be finalized, but patients should be able to return to dialysis centers, Grady spokesman Matt Gove said. In 2009, the safety net hospital shut down its outpatient dialysis unit, which officials said was losing roughly $4 million annually. Grady is facing an up to $25 million shortfall this year.
Nearly all of the 22 immigrants with end-stage renal disease were forced to go to emergency departments this week for dialysis, said Dorothy Leone-Glasser with Advocates for Responsible Care. One woman headed back to her native Honduras after passing out at home and being treated at an ER, she said.
This is a community problem that needs a community solution, Fresenius spokeswoman Jane Kramer said. The company, along with DaVita Inc. and Emory Healthcare, are continuing to treat 12 additional former patients for free.
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