[QUOTE=plugger_;12338]If anyone cares to contact some reps on the committee we are going in front of and tell them to vote for this bill, here is the contact info (you don’t have to be a Colorado resident)
Health and Human Services Committee Members and Contact information
Plugger,
Can this list of reps all be emailed in one email? Do you have any suggestions for what to say to them? I mean do you want personal experiences of poor care in dialysis or do they already know that? What specifically should the emails include?
Plugger,
Can you give a brief summary of the points the bill will accomplish? I just read it but want to make sure I clearly understand it before writing to reps. One thing that must occur is tech training must be taken out of the hands of the corps and private units, which is what your bill seems to be doing, and put in the hands of the state. But I am wondering how the state sets the standards for training? In my opinion some state bureaus are corrupt. I was in a unit in one state which was surveyed. The state bureau did a lousy job. The unit was right back at it as soon as they were out the door. I spoke to the state surveyor, personally, and I was shocked by the excuses this person gave me. I have kept abreast of subsequent surveys this unit has although I moved out of state. To read the surveys it is the same old thing. So, I know not all State surveyors are doing their job.
Also, the bill said that units must post the state bureaus # so that patients have a place to file grievances. But this is already done, so how is this different? Also, how does this protect patients or staff who want to file a grievance, as the way things are now, almost no one will report units for fear of losing ones job or being “dumped”.
[QUOTE=Unregistered;12399]Plugger,
Can this list of reps all be emailed in one email? Do you have any suggestions for what to say to them? I mean do you want personal experiences of poor care in dialysis or do they already know that? What specifically should the emails include?[/QUOTE]
One email would be fine. Personal experiences would be great! I suppose you might mention you would like to see the quality of technician training be consistently good, instead of varying the way it seems to now.
Just techs for now, we may have to think about adding nurses.
You would get along well with a lady I’m working with - she was the same way. A person has to be assertive from everything I can tell when dealing with this.
[QUOTE=Unregistered;12393]
Congratulations on your efforts and courage, Plugger, and I hope all who see this thread will get off your duffs, for once, and email the reps. I really hope that this will be a significant turning point for improvements in ESRD care. GOD BLESS![/QUOTE]
Thank you for your kind words! I’ve had a lot of help with this and others are working to improve things - I hope we all can see the results of the efforts soon!
[QUOTE=Unregistered;12398]Plugger,
On your list of organizations is DialysisEthics the orignal organization-are they still active? KNow their board has not been active for a long time. Who is Front Range? And it looks like you have nurse, tech and renal administrators working with you?? They are for this bill?[/QUOTE]
DialysisEthics is transitioning to Health Care Patient Rights - a paid advocacy group working on issues besides dialysis, though they won’t turn anybody down. Arlene is also advising on dialysis issues. And yes, it looks like the nurse and tech groups are coming on board. The administrators group is pending - I seem to recall they are meeting at the end of February and will look it over last I heard.
The heart and soul of this bill for me comes down to a couple of parts:
Section 22 parts a and b read:
(a) MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR THE CURRICULA AND INSTRUCTORS
USED TO TRAIN INDIVIDUALS TO PERFORM THE DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS OF
A HEMODIALYSIS TECHNICIAN;
(b) MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR THE DETERMINATION OF THE
COMPETENCY OF INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE TRAINED AS HEMODIALYSIS
TECHNICIANS;
This says to me instructors should be trained and those trained should be competent in such hands-on skills as needle sticks.
Last I heard we were going to allow the nationally accrediting organizations to do the testing such possibly as:
(A) Certified Clinical Hemodialysis Technician (CCHT) through the Nephrology Nursing Certification Commission (NNCC);
(B) Certified Hemodialysis Technician (CHT) through the Board of Nephrology Examiners Nursing and Technology (BONENT); or Certified Clinical Nephrology Technician (CCNT) or Certified Biomedical Nephrology Technician (CBNT) through the National Nephrology Certification Organization (NNCO)
I hope we don’t run into the problems you saw with your state, but it sounds like we had better be able to deal with them. I do know they went after a clinic near here and it sounds like they did good job with them.
As for the state’s post, I know a patient complained it wasn’t posted where it could be seen, so that is why that is in there. As for getting people to feel safe to complain, I don’t have an answer for that one right now. I would hope Colorado has something in place, but I don’t know.
Thank you for your responses Plugger . I emailed every Rep. on the list! The one thing I feel the most strongly about is the point about protections for patients and workers who file grievances. I hope this is something you can bring up in the near future. No worker should feel threatened for the loss of his job for filing a grievance and no patient should fear for his life due to “dumping” if he files a grievance. This has to be stopped once and for all, both parties rights protected. Hopefully unit problems would be minimized with tech training and certification, but there are so many crooked things that go on in units all the time- there must be proper oversite and unconditional protection for those who must file grievances.
Wishing you the best as the bill goes to the floor.
And I’m not even going to try and reply to Beth’s comments. The dialysis world needs revamped . I came into dialysis a frre man , no narrow minded thinging. I’ve been in and out the medical world all my life. I’m now back with doctors who know me and have know me for most of my entire life. The only thing they can say is follow the money. That why dialysis is the way it is, not just my doctors but others that I’ve been in contact with say the same.
This bill is still a work in progress with all the amendments the state can tack on, and it just got out of the Health and Human Services committee - it might be stuck in the appropriations committee for awhile, then to the house floor, then to a Senate committee, then to the Senate floor, then we have to hope the governor won’t veto it (would be surprised if he did). Yes, a hairy process, but this was a major step.
And I’m not even going to try and reply to Beth’s comments. The dialysis world needs revamped . I came into dialysis a frre man , no narrow minded thinging. I’ve been in and out the medical world all my life. I’m now back with doctors who know me and have know me for most of my entire life. The only thing they can say is follow the money. That why dialysis is the way it is, not just my doctors but others that I’ve been in contact with say the same.
bobeleanor[/QUOTE]
Bobeleanor,
We must have started a year and a few months ago when we put in this sunrise application which started a state department regulatory agency investigation - my State Senator pointed me in the right direction here. We waited and waited and it came back last October and had shot us down. A lady I know - who was on dialysis over 10 years - went through the report and had a lot of disagreements with it. I had also been working on the campaign of our newly elected state rep and had been giving him all the stats and stories I had. When he was elected he decided this was going to be one of the first bills he wanted to work on - he even got up and talked about it at his celebration party. We have a good pair working on it at the state capitol: Rep. John Kefalas brings a lot of energy and enthusiasm to this and Senator Bob Bacon has been around the statehouse for some years and is our seasoned vet.
Thanks for input. I just got a thing in USmail from my state rep. And he wants to know what is on the top of my list. Healthcare reform. I will send the paper he sent me with a letter on dialysis reform.
Plugger,
I dialyze in Colorado at home now, since Christmas.
Previously I had dialyzed in Denver at several units and most recently in Loveland.
If a statement or other help coud be of assistance at this point, please let me know.
Regards,
A Traveler…
Thanks! Still a ways to go but we are looking good; I hear the appropriations committee shouldn’t be much of a problem. I hope your Dad is still doing good.
[QUOTE=A Traveler;12550]Plugger,
I dialyze in Colorado at home now, since Christmas.
Previously I had dialyzed in Denver at several units and most recently in Loveland.
If a statement or other help coud be of assistance at this point, please let me know.
Regards,
A Traveler…[/QUOTE]
Traveler,
Last time I talked to my rep it sounded like the state Senate hearing could happen within 2 or 3 months; we will be going before the Senate Health and Human Services committee there too. I will be posting the email and phone numbers of those members also when I get them - probably after we see how things go in the house. So prepare to warm up that keyboard!