Need help finding treatment because on ventilator

Hi, my dad is now on a ventilator and needing hemodialysis due to sepsis. He is in a snf 90 miles from home because these facilities are few and far between. We want to get him care at home. Arranging the ventilator care does not appear to be a problem, but the ventilator is a barrier to him getting dialysis of any modality.

The facility he is in now is in the same building as an outpatient dialysis center, so a nurse accompanies him there where he is dialyzed among the general public. Despite this, the center’s social worker says we will not find a center to accept him (she made one phone call). We contacted the liaison at his nephrologist’s office, and she did have some ideas, but came up empty. (She did disclose that she was technically employed by one of the 2 big dialysis corporations.)

We want to bring dad back to the city he has lived in his entire life (in southeastern Pennsylvania), which we believe will give him a boost. We would consider any treatment option, in-center (providing an accompanying nurse, if necessary), home, or staff-assist home. The barrier to all these appears to be the necessary of going to the center on some occasions, which they do not accept because of the vent.

Since I know there are people who have successfully arranged home hemo on a vent, I am looking for guidance on how this was accomplished. Any help is appreciated.

I am also wanting to bring my mom home. She was in a severe car accident and has to be on a vent has dialysis 3 times a week. We are basically jailed to the rehab facility she is in and that is not very up on new equipment and is limited. She is going down hill because of depression since she has not been back home in over 8 months due to this accident. Why isn’t there any dialysis facility available that you can bring a certified ventilator/trechea nurse to. We live in Arlington Heights Il and we have 3 of the HUGE dialysis centers all around us. I would so appreciate someone reaching out to me with some help or answers.

We talked this week. Since we talked I left a message for Caprisheus Barbee at ESRD Network 10 and I now have the name of the person at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services who is the government task lead for patient complaints and access to care. He is currently on vacation, but I plan to email him about your mother’s situation and similar situations I have encountered over the last year or so in multiple states. Like you, I believe something needs to be done to address this access to dialysis care problem. Here’s an article from the Home Dialysis Central site on dialysis with a vent or trach. If a dialysis clinic is nervous about accepting a patient for in-center dialysis, dialysis clinics that are certified to offer home dialysis training and support are allowed by regulation to train people for home dialysis in their homes instead of in the dialysis clinic and they are encouraged by CMS (Medicare) to individualize care to the patient/family needs. http://www.homedialysis.org/life-at-home/articles/dialysis-with-a-trach-or-vent