| Author | Subject: Transportation to Treatment in Bad Weather |
| Christine | Posted At 15:11:52 03/07/2003 I was wondering if you know of any services which might provide transportation to dialysis treatments during extreme adverse weather conditions, or other similar times when a state of emergency is declared. Do police or emergency personnel have any obligation to help in these situations? |
| Beth Witten | Re: Transportation to Treatment in Bad Weather (Currently 0 replies) Posted At 14:44:30 03/08/2003 Dialysis clinics are supposed to have an emergency plan. They are supposed to give this plan to patients so they know what to do in case of emergency -- bad weather, utilities disruption, etc. Although police and other emergency personnel occasionally help dialysis patients get to dialysis, this could be limited by their other responsibilities in an emergency. Although it is best never to miss or shorten a dialysis treatment, sometimes people must miss a dialysis treatment because of an emergency. The National Kidney Foundation has an emergency meal planning guide that you can find at www.kidney.org/general/atoz/content/mealplan.html. Talk with the social worker or nurses at your dialysis clinic about options they can suggest. Ask your family, friends, or community what help they can provide. Think about what you would you have done if you needed to get to a doctor's appointment before you were on dialysis. Another resource is Project Action (an Easter Seals project). The "National Accessible Traveler's Database" lists transportation services throughout the country. You can find it under Publications, Resources and Training at www.projectaction.org. |
| Christine | Re: Transportation to Treatment in Bad Weather (Currently 0 replies) Posted At 09:03:19 03/10/2003 Thanks Beth, the information you provided has been extremely helpful. |
| alnitab@juno.com | Re: Transportation for a lathargic person (Currently 0 replies) Posted At 16:47:10 05/01/2003 I was wondering if you knew of any resources available for someone who need dialysis 3 times a week but must be in a stretcher to get there. |
| Beth Witten | Re: Transportation to Treatment in Bad Weather (Currently 0 replies) Posted At 15:03:16 05/08/2003 The social worker at the dialysis clinic is the person who is most likely to know transportation options for people that need stretcher transportation. Some people need stretcher transportation for comfort while others need it for medical reasons. Typically stretcher transportation is much more expensive than other transportation to/from dialysis. In some cases, the Medicare and/or Medicaid can help pay the cost if the patient has this coverage. Because there are many more options for people who can use a wheelchair or walk, if it could help improve the patient's ability to sit up during transport, perhaps the doctor might order physical therapy. PT can be provided in an inpatient or outpatient rehabilitation facility, in some nursing homes, or at home through a home health agency. |