Atlanta Judge Rules Dialysis Unit Can Be Closed

[Thickasabrick]

Source: New York Times

ATLANTA — Uninsured dialysis patients who could be cut off from their life-sustaining care lost a court challenge on Friday when a judge ruled that Grady Memorial Hospital could close its outpatient dialysis clinic. But the hospital gave the patients a temporary reprieve.

Ruling largely on technical grounds, a state court judge dissolved the restraining order that prevented last weekend’s scheduled closing of the clinic at Grady, the Atlanta region’s safety net hospital. The hospital, which is deeply in debt, quickly announced it would close the clinic within a week. It agreed, however, to pay for up to three months of dialysis at private clinics for the 51 patients who will be dislocated.

Grady will continue to assist the indigent patients, many of them illegal immigrants, in seeking care in their home countries or in other states where they may qualify for emergency Medicaid coverage.

Lawyers and advocates for the Grady dialysis patients had asked in negotiating sessions that the hospital provide a longer transition period. Grady’s senior vice president, Matt Gove, said he could not speculate about whether the hospital would extend its financial assistance beyond three months to patients unable to make arrangements.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/26/health/policy/26grady.html?ref=health

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I'm thinking this is at least 51 Death Sentences.

[Chemisse]

1. Life must be so hard for people who depend on dialysis

And now it just got harder. If they don't find another place to get it done, they will die very soon.

[pattmarty]

11. Yeah, but you know, who cares??? They're all either poor or............

..............black/brown or some of both. Dontcha know, this is America, everybody is supposed to be responsible for themselves. Isn't that what "freedom" is all about?:sarcasm:

[Justitia]

23. You can't even imagine. My son was on dialysis for 3 yrs - it's a showstopper, for sure.

When I saw this article, I literally freaked out for those people. They cannot live without dialysis!

[BOSSHOG]

2. I can't believe pro-life christian conservatives

aren't rushing to provide assistance to keep the hospital open. After all we have the greatest health care system in the universe and death panels have yet to be invented by the evil communists in the white house.

[Dappleganger]

3. "I'm sure there are charity organizations who will take care of them!"

--VA Douchebag, Eric Cantor

[robo50]

4. Did he actually SAY this about these patients or was that just one of his

foolish statements he uses all the time when confronted with reality?

The man must have blood as cold as ice-water.

[dgibby]

14. He said it about a relative of one of his constituents.

It was at the only town hall meeting he's held in person. The woman lost her job and insurance, has stomach tumors.

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

5. Maby the patients are not praying enough?

[Cass]

10. Will the local chapter of 9-12 teabaggers have a bake sale to raise money to keep the clinic open??

That's the wing nut answer to the heath insurance crisis - neighbors will help their uninsured neighbors. That twit from Arlen Specter's town hall meeting spouted out that nonsense on Hardball to Lawrence O'Donell. All I kept thinking was ok, well how's that working out for us NOW??

[msanthrope]

20. 'Pro-lifers' only care about cells.

Cells are precious because they are still innocent.

Once born, they become things like Iraqi children, illegal children, brown children, poor children. They aren't too concerned with them.....

[ensho]

6. isn't this murder? didn't the Judge just OK murder?

they shouldn't close until a new place has been found for every patient.

and the closing news should be posted far and wide so future patients would be imformed.

whatever happened to kindness?

[atreides1]

12. No

The judge based his decision on the letter of the law. In most states and the federal courts judges are immune from being held responsible for any decisions that they make.

[flor de jasmim]

7. My father is on dialysis - they estimate he'd live 2 weeks if he went off it.

These are the real death panels.

[Ozymanithrax]

8. The staff recognized the problem, a critically ill bottom line...

So they sent their patients home to die.
I understand that the companies outlook for continued profits and high returns to their investors is much approved.

Health Care is only a right for those who have the money and power to profit from the death of people.

[Lorien]

9. Will the Right be there like they were for Terri Schivo? I thought not

if it's not unborn or brain dead they don't care.

[dgibby]

15. Of course not. She was white, middle class.

Those folks, not so much.

[WriteDown]

13. Can't get blood from a stone seems so apropos here...

Surely there are some very wealthy benefactors that live in the ATL area that could help out here.

What about TI? He's in prison and has little use for his millions.

Ted Turner?

[KamaAina]

16. "Ruling largely on technical grounds,"

so I guess these 51 people will soon be dying "largely on technical grounds". :eyes:

[BR_Parkway]

17. Actually, Grady reorganized as a non profit in 2008, got a $200M grant

from the Woodruff foundation and started out on a massive upgrade program. This is "the" Atlanta safety net charity hospital - so the decision makes even less sense to close it

http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.gradyhealthsystem.org/About/&ei=2D--SqTJGNXO8QbHqJzBAQ&sa=X&oi=smap&resnum=1&ct=result&cd=5&usg=AFQjCNHFFHoUafoRfC49AiUmb2Rx4LBmeQ

[Fearless]

18. Of course it "could" be closed... but ethically... of course not.

:banghead:

[totodeinhere]

19. I thought that anyone on dialysis is eligible for Medicare regardless of their age.

Or is it because they are illegal aliens?

[Thickasabrick]

21. The 51 mentioned in this article are immigrants. So...Medicare rules

would not apply. These people literally have nowhere to go. Grady offered to send them back to their home countries but that is no guarantee they could find the dialysis services they need and in most cases - it would just be a trip to someplace to die.

If any of these patients show up in the emergency room...then yes, Grady would have to treat them - or any other hospital.

[Justitia]

22. Not all immigrants, but all uninsured. Medicare for ESRD (kidney failure) takes 3 months.

My son was uninsured when his kidneys failed. Medicare requires a 3 month, continuous, non-reversible diagnosis of renal failure to begin coverage.
Of course, most people won't last a week or two without dialysis if your kidneys fail.
You can imagine my terror when it happened.

And yes, Medicare, Medicaid are not available to non-citizens.