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“On the road
again....” Four simple words that once seemed impossible for dialysis patients. But not any longer!
On this week’s show, Lori Hartwell and Stephen Furst
talk with someone who helps make dialyzing in another city or state (or even
another country) a lot easier.
There was a
time when it was difficult to arrange treatments for hemodialysis patients who
wanted to travel. Dialysis facilities didn’t always have openings for patients
who wished to receive only one or two treatments. The
facilities also may not have had enough staff to accommodate visiting patients.
Thankfully, times have changed.
“It’s an
exciting time for patients on dialysis who like to travel,” says Marcel Levique,
Director of Patient Travel Services for Fresenius Medical Care. “Fresenius
developed an internal program to help patients who wanted to travel, because
patients should have the right to travel just like anybody else.”
Both Stephen
and Lori wholeheartedly agree, and they’re on the road quite a bit. Although
traveling is not a problem for Lori thanks to her transplant, Stephen does need
to schedule dialysis as he traverses the country (and often the world). Stephen
just returned from a vacation to Orcas Island, off the coast of Washington
state. The nearest dialysis facility was two hours away in Seattle. But Stephen
planned ahead so as not to miss any events or time with family and friends.
Planning ahead is key.
“We ask for
four weeks notice in advance,” says Marcel. “Last-minute emergency situations do
happen, and people are understanding about that. But for pleasure travel we ask
patients to please plan ahead.”
If you’re a
dialysis patient who likes to travel, the first step is to notify your unit’s
social worker, who will then contact a dialysis unit in your travel destination.
The social worker will identify units that he or she is aware of, or search
through any number of print and online lists of dialysis units (see below).
Fresenius Medical Care offers The Patient Travel Service (1-800-634-6254) that
will handle all of the arrangements, including special requests.
“For
international travel,” says Marcel, “we have a sister division called Holiday
Dialysis International, based in Italy. They help us place patients traveling
all throughout Europe. We also have Fresenius Medical Care in Japan.” Marcel
points out that travel requirements for dialysis patients vary from one country
to the next, but in the U.S., Fresenius follows the same policies from state to
state.
One of the
policies that doesn’t change no matter where you go within the renal community
is the signing of forms. Patients should know that when traveling to another
facility, there will be many forms to sign (just like when you first started
dialysis). However, Lori, Stephen, and Marcel all agree that having the freedom
to be able to travel again far outweighs the signing of some paperwork!
“The ability to
travel and enjoy your life just like everybody else is important,” says Marcel.
Here at the Renal Support Network, we hope to see all dialysis patients on the
road again... traveling and enjoying life!
The following
resources can be used to help locate a dialysis facility in your travel
destination:
The List,
published by Dialysis & Transplantation (also available online at
www.eneph.com)
