My own mother died in 2011 from kidney failure. My brother and I took turns taking her to the dialysis clinic in San Mateo for nearly three years, three times per week. For those of you who have never been inside a dialysis clinic, it is a sad sight. All patients were in one big room, with hospital beds lined up in a nearly full circle along the wall of the room. There was only about six feet between patients’ beds while hooked up to the dialysis machines. There were only “technicians” and “nurse assistants,” with one Nurse on duty at any one time. There was no medical doctor on duty at all.
All of the patients I saw were in very bad medical condition. Most patients were in their ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, and most of them, including my own mother, had multiple medical conditions in addition to needing dialysis. Most patients I observed could not walk and were either wheelchair bound or bedridden.
I, myself, witnessed two dialysis patients die while I was there with my mother. I do not know what other medical conditions they had. I am sure other dialysis patients die at other dialysis clinics all over California, but, we, the public, never hear about them.
Proposition 29 would require all dialysis clinics in California to be staffed with at least one medical doctor, nurse practitioner or physician assistant, during the hours of operation. The dialysis clinics do not want to pay for a medical doctor, they only want to make as much money as they can. Having a medical doctor on duty will not cause any dialysis clinics to close. The dialysis clinics are paying for all the “No on 29” ads. If you have a loved one who needs kidney dialysis, please vote yes on 29, for their sake.
Thanks for such a well written and persuasive LTE in favor of Prop. 29. The story about your mother is heartrending, and I am sorry for your loss. I'm sure she knew that she had two fine sons.
Michael - thank you for your LTE. My wife underwent treatment there to combat a post surgery infection lasting 6 weeks. She was able to drive there herself fortunately. Isn't one of the problems that many centers would have to close if a medical doctor has to be present due to a lack of medical staff? I am also not sure why voters have to make that decision which is better left with field experts?
Mr. Oberg, the headline should have said, “The case for Proposition 29, yet again” since the purpose of this proposition, in one form or another, has been offered up twice before, to failure. This proposition is another bald-faced attempt by union organizers (SEIU) to get their foot in the door. The SEIU is hoping that dialysis providers will submit instead of putting up money to fight the proposition, again, for the third time. Instead, the unintended consequences will be that dialysis centers will close since union labor has never lowered costs for anyone and medical doctors likely won’t work for free, causing more people to miss out on dialysis treatments, potentially leading to death from kidney failure. Let’s not forget that nurses and technicians on hand are already trained. Vote No on 29, along with all other Propositions on the ballot in November.
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(3) comments
Michael
Thanks for such a well written and persuasive LTE in favor of Prop. 29. The story about your mother is heartrending, and I am sorry for your loss. I'm sure she knew that she had two fine sons.
Michael - thank you for your LTE. My wife underwent treatment there to combat a post surgery infection lasting 6 weeks. She was able to drive there herself fortunately. Isn't one of the problems that many centers would have to close if a medical doctor has to be present due to a lack of medical staff? I am also not sure why voters have to make that decision which is better left with field experts?
Mr. Oberg, the headline should have said, “The case for Proposition 29, yet again” since the purpose of this proposition, in one form or another, has been offered up twice before, to failure. This proposition is another bald-faced attempt by union organizers (SEIU) to get their foot in the door. The SEIU is hoping that dialysis providers will submit instead of putting up money to fight the proposition, again, for the third time. Instead, the unintended consequences will be that dialysis centers will close since union labor has never lowered costs for anyone and medical doctors likely won’t work for free, causing more people to miss out on dialysis treatments, potentially leading to death from kidney failure. Let’s not forget that nurses and technicians on hand are already trained. Vote No on 29, along with all other Propositions on the ballot in November.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.