Dialysis Services at Guthrie

Dialysis Patient Regulations

In order to promote the interests and the well being of the patients and their families, the dialysis unit will has the following regulations. The purpose of these regulations is to provide privacy, promote independence and encourage involvement in your own plan of care.

Visitors are welcome during your dialysis treatment. Visitors will be requested to leave in emergency situations or at the discretion of the nurse.
Lockers are available during your treatment for storage of personal possessions. All valuables should be kept with you. The hospital cannot be liable for lost or stolen articles.
Patients will be expected to wash their access arm prior to treatment, and hold their needle sites at the end of their treatment.
Patients will be expected to schedule their own doctor’s appointments, clinic appointments, and notify their physician for prescription renewal.
Telephones are located near each dialysis station. They may be used by patients to call within the healthcare complex for appointments, etc. The phones are not to be used for long-distance calls, except in emergency. A pay phone is located in the hallway outside the waiting room. The incoming 800 number is for patients or families to notify us of emergencies or to make appointments.
Serious medical complications, such as low blood pressure and vomiting, have resulted from eating during dialysis. For this reason, a decision has been made to no longer allow eating during a treatment. Please feel free to stop in the cafeteria either before or after your treatment for a meal. Please do not being trays from the cafeteria up to the waiting room. You may also bring your own lunch or snack to be eaten before or after your treatment in the waiting area. Diabetic patients on insulin should eat breakfast or lunch prior to their treatment. If a diabetic patient has a low blood sugar, this will be treated as prescribed by the doctor by using glucose or Ensure Plus®.
Due to fluid removal needs during a treatment, fluid amounts will be limited to 8 -10 ounces. Appropriate juices and soda will be available in the patient kitchen. Please stop to help yourself to ice or a beverage as you enter the treatment area. Coffee and juices will be available in the waiting area for patients, family and visitors. Visitors are not allowed to eat in the unit. They may eat in the waiting area.
Muscle cramping may occur as a result of fluid removal during treatment. If cramping occurs we ask that you notify a staff member who will assess your blood pressure and cramping. The nurse will recommend and assist with appropriate interventions. Patients are not allowed to stand unattended during treatment as serious injury could result standing during hemodialysis may result in a rapid drop in blood pressure.
Your dialysis schedule and times for your treatment will be planned according to treatment hours. This may change periodically due to changes in your treatment or the treatment times of other patients. Please check your schedule weekly. It is posted in the dialysis waiting room.
Physician recommendations for duration of treatment are based on monthly blood work studies. Treatment length will be adjusted based on these results. Treatment adequacy recommendations are based on nationally mandated standards. These standards are minimum requirements for promoting patient health.

Robert Packer Hospital Dialysis Center Patient Grievance Policy

A patient may register a grievance regarding his/her care if a disagreement is not resolved to his/her satisfaction, without fear of reprisal, by using the following protocol:

The patient and/or representative will first discuss the issue with the involved party(s). If the dispute is not resolved to the patient's and/or representative's satisfaction, then the patient and/or representative should write a letter stating the grievance to Dr. Cady, the physician director of the dialysis unit. A meeting with the physician and all involved parties will attempt to resolve the issue. If this is unsuccessful, then the patient and/or representative may notify ESRD Network #4 (Area Code 412-578-3270) and they will intervene as a facilitator or mediator between the patient and the physician or hospital staff.