RCC training dialysis technicians - Richmond County Daily Journal
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<![CDATA[ .neFileBlock { margin-bottom: 20px; } .neFileBlock p { margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px; } .neFileBlock .neFile { border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-top: 10px; } .neFileBlock .neCaption { font-size: 85%; } ]]> Contributed photo Dialysis technicians work in dialysis centers, hospitals and other health care settings that offer dialysis treatment. Richmond Community College offers a diploma program in dialysis technology.
By Wylie Bell | For the Daily Journal
HAMLET — The stats for kidney disease are staggering: One in three American adults is currently at risk for developing kidney disease. Once the kidneys fail, dialysis or a kidney transplant is required. About 450,000 Americans are on dialysis.
Richmond Community College has a unique dialysis technology diploma program that trains technicians to work in dialysis centers, hospitals and other health care settings that offer dialysis treatment.
RCC instructor Renea Craven experienced firsthand the need for skilled and motivated health care workers when her husband was diagnosed several years ago with kidney cancer that resulted in his being dependent on dialysis treatment.
“Dialysis is a life-sustaining treatment, and you want a health care provider who is not only knowledgeable but also empathetic because you’re going to be seeing them not just one time but several times a week for several hours at a time,” said Craven, who is allied health chair and lead instructor for the medical assisting program at RCC.
Craven spearheaded the dialysis technology program at RCC, which can be completed in one year.
“This diploma program provides technicians with the skill set to serve as support staff for physicians treating dialysis patients. It will also teach them how to be advocates for their patients,” Craven said. “The majority of people who are on dialysis are chronically ill, and some will be on dialysis the remainder of their lives after kidney failure. You don’t want a caregiver who hooks a patient up to a machine and then walks away. You need someone who is concerned for that patient’s other needs such as diet and nutrition, family or work issues, problems with insurance, depression or fatigue and their overall care plan.”
STAFF NEEDED
Davita Kidney Care operates 10 dialysis centers within a 50-mile radius of Richmond County and has 64 centers in North Carolina and 20 centers in South Carolina. At a national level, DaVita operates or provides administrative services at 2,098 outpatient dialysis centers and serves about 165,000 patients.
Fresenius Medical Care is another leading dialysis provider that operates about 20 regional facilities and 2,261 nationwide.
Dr. John Shepherd, a nephrologist with Pinehurst Nephrology Associates, said there is a growing need for staffing at dialysis centers.
“One of the problems we run into at the unit is we have chairs available, but sometimes we don’t have the staffing available — be it nurses, technicians, social workers or dieticians. To have a conduit of trained technicians from the college would be helpful to get patients in and out more smoothly,” said Shepherd.
Shepherd said the medical economy is going to continue to grow, so a technician program such as the one being offered at RCC is a great starting place for students who want to pursue a career in health care.
“I’ve known a lot of technicians who started in a dialysis center and ended up going into medical school,” Shepherd said.
ALTERING HEALTH CARE
“As with all RCC’s programs, the college is in tune with what would better serve our community,” said RCC President Dr. Dale McInnis, RCC president. “Unfortunately, the need for more dialysis technicians is real and is not going away. This program is our opportunity to alter health care and provide chronically ill patients with the very best in specialized care.”
For Craven, this program represents a lifeline for many, including her husband, who suffers from kidney failure.
“When you are dealing with dialysis, you are dealing with someone’s life. This allied health program will give people the skill set to be excellent caregivers in our communities and beyond,” she said.
RCC is currently enrolling students for the fall semester in the dialysis technology diploma program as well as its other certificate, diploma and degree programs. New student registration will be held Thursday and Aug. 11-13 on RCC’s main campus, 1042 W. Hamlet Ave. Applications can be submitted online at www.richmondcc.edu.
For more information, call RCC at 910-410-1700 or visit www.richmondcc.edu.
Company Shares of Rockwell Medical, Inc. Rally 0.25% - News Watch International
Shares of Rockwell Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:RMTI) rose by 0.25% in the past week and 34.86% for the last 4 weeks. In the past week, the shares has outperformed the S&P 500 by 1.44% and the outperformance increases to 35.9% for the last 4 weeks.
The company shares have rallied 36.33% from its 1 Year high price. On Jun 25, 2015, the shares registered one year high at $18.04 and the one year low was seen on Dec 15, 2014. The 50-Day Moving Average price is $12.87 and the 200 Day Moving Average price is recorded at $10.97. The company executives own 5.5% of Rockwell Medical, Inc. Company shares. In the past six months, there is a change of 0% in the total insider ownership. Institutional Investors own 27.3% of Company shares. During last 3 month period, 7.6% of total institutional ownership has changed in the company shares.
Shares of Rockwell Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:RMTI) ended Thursday session in red amid volatile trading. The shares closed down 0.02 points or 0.12% at $16.21 with 446,112 shares getting traded. Post opening the session at $16.25, the shares hit an intraday low of $16.03 and an intraday high of $16.49 and the price vacillated in this range throughout the day. The company has a market cap of $813 million and the number of outstanding shares has been calculated to be 50,169,000 shares. The 52-week high of Rockwell Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:RMTI) is $18.04 and the 52-week low is $8.095. Rockwell Medical, Inc., formerly Rockwell Medical Technologies, Inc., manufactures hemodialysis concentrate solutions and dialysis kits, and it sells, distributes and delivers these and other ancillary hemodialysis products primarily to hemodialysis providers in the United States, as well as internationally primarily in Asia, Latin America and Europe. Hemodialysis duplicates kidney function in patients with failing kidneys also known as End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). ESRD is an advanced-stage of chronic kidney disease (CKD) characterized by the irreversible loss of kidney function. Its dialysis solutions (also known as dialysate) are used to maintain life, removing toxins and replacing nutrients in the dialysis patients bloodstream. As of December 31, 2011, it was licensed and was developing renal drug therapies. During the year ended December 31, 2011, it acquired an abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for a generic version of an intravenous Vitamin-D analogue, calcitriol.
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Company Shares of NxStage Medical, Inc. Drops by -3.52% - News Watch International
NxStage Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXTM) has lost 3.52% during the past week and dropped 10.94% in the last 4 weeks. The shares are however, negative as compared to the S&P 500 for the past week with a loss of 2.37%. NxStage Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXTM) has underperformed the index by 10.25% in the last 4 weeks. Investors should watch out for further signals and trade with caution.
The company shares have rallied 3.26% from its 1 Year high price. On Apr 27, 2015, the shares registered one year high at $19.63 and the one year low was seen on Sep 16, 2014. The 50-Day Moving Average price is $15.74 and the 200 Day Moving Average price is recorded at $17.31. The company executives own 2.3% of Nxstage Medical, Inc. Company shares. In the past six months, there is a change of -5.2% in the total insider ownership. Institutional Investors own 96.1% of Company shares. During last 3 month period, 2.44% of total institutional ownership has changed in the company shares. On a different note, The Company has disclosed insider buying and selling activities to the Securities Exchange, The (President), of Nxstage Medical, Inc., Turk Joseph E Jr had unloaded 2,000 shares at $15.36 per share in a transaction on June 23, 2015. The total value of transaction was $30,720. The Insider information was revealed by the Securities and Exchange Commission in a Form 4 filing.
Shares of NxStage Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXTM) ended Thursday session in red amid volatile trading. The shares closed down 0.24 points or 1.66% at $14.25 with 357,402 shares getting traded. Post opening the session at $14.54, the shares hit an intraday low of $14.115 and an intraday high of $14.55 and the price vacillated in this range throughout the day. The company has a market cap of $901 million and the number of outstanding shares has been calculated to be 63,238,000 shares. The 52-week high of NxStage Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXTM) is $19.63 and the 52-week low is $11.5. NxStage Medical, Inc. (NxStage) is a medical device company that develops, manufactures and markets products for the treatment of kidney failure, fluid overload and related blood treatments and procedures. The Companys primary product is the NxStage System One (System One). It also sells needles and blood tubing sets primarily to dialysis clinics for the treatment of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). It operates in two segments: System One and In-Center. It distributes its products in three markets: home, critical care and in-center. In the System One segment it derives its revenues from the sale and rental of the System One and PureFlow SL equipment, and the sale of disposable products in the home and critical care markets. In the In-Center segment, it derives its revenues from the sale of blood tubing sets and needles for hemodialysis primarily for the treatment of ESRD patients at dialysis centers and needles for apheresis, which is referred to as the in-center market.
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Early Dialysis Ahead of Super Storm Linked to Better Outcomes | Medpage Today - MedPage Today
Action Points
Patients with kidney disease who received early dialysis ahead of Sandy, the 2012 hurricane that pummeled New York and New Jersey, had better outcomes than those who didn't, says a new study.
Hurricane Sandy proved to be deadly to patients on dialysis, as their 30-day mortality rates rose after flooding and structural damage affected power and transportation. But 60% of the nearly 14,000 patients included in this latest analysis received early dialysis, and they had lower odds of going to the emergency department (odds ratio 0.80, 95% CI 0.67-0.96; P=0.01) and to the hospital (OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.66-0.94; P=0.01), and had a lower 30-day mortality (OR 0.72, 95% CI 0.52-0.997; P=0.048) in the week after the storm, according to the study.
Nicole Lurie, MD, the assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) led the study, which was published in the American Journal of Kidney Diseaseslast week.
"Every disaster holds the potential to impact health and often disproportionately affect people who are medically vulnerable, including people who require dialysis," said Lurie in a press release from the HHS. "This study provides the first evidence that receiving early dialysis in advance of potential disasters helps protect health and saves lives for dialysis patients and suggests that early dialysis should become a standard practice and protective measure."
Rahul Dhawan, DO, at the University of Southern California and the White Memorial Medical Center added that education for dialysis patients and caregivers is important when there's the possibility of a natural disaster.
"This study is an excellent example of how education regarding early dialysis during a storm or natural disaster needs to be more widespread," he wrote in an email to MedPage Today.
Before Hurricane Sandy arrived, nearly 70% of dialysis centers offered early dialysis care on Sunday to their patients who usually came in on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Fewer than 5% of patients with end-stage renal disease had to visit the emergency department following the storm, according to the authors.
They took their data from the CMS Datalink Project. All of the patients were enrolled in Medicare and had at least one claim for maintenance dialysis treatment from Oct. 1 to Oct. 28, 2012, and a discernible dialysis schedule. Patients who received dialysis at home and patients who were in the hospital for the week of the storm were excluded.
Researchers looked at the patients' schedules in the days leading up to the storm and whether they were altered in the few days leading up to the storm. Information about age, sex, race, and onset of dialysis care was also gathered.
Most of the facilities in the analysis (92%) treated at least some patients with early dialysis in the four days before the storm, according to the study. In an unadjusted analysis that didn't control for patient characteristics, patients were also more likely to visit the emergency room (OR 0.75, 95% CI 0.63-0.89; P=0.001) and the hospital (OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.65-0.92; P=0.004), but had similar 30-day mortality rates (OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.58-1.09; P=0.2).
Patients who were eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid had worse outcomes than single eligibility patients (P<0.001). And being nonwhite was associated with a decreased odds for an emergency department visit and for hospitalization (P=0.001).
In addition:
Those with cardiovascular comorbid condition in the month before the storm had higher odds of hospitalization and a higher mortality.
Being hospitalized or visiting the emergency department before the storm was associated with likelihood of returning after the storm and with a higher 30-day mortality.
Being nonwhite and younger was associated with a decreased 30-day mortality rate.
There was widespread variation across the five boroughs of New York City as to the number of centers that offered early dialysis, according to Lurie and colleagues. "These findings suggest that routine availability of early dialysis in advance of a storm is generally achievable and should become standard practice," they wrote.
"These patients, especially those who are at an economic disadvantage (the dual eligible population) must be educated regarding the importance of early dialysis when a natural disaster is on the horizon," added Dhawan. "By emphasizing the importance of this to nurses, primary care doctors, and especially nephrologists, outcomes can improve dramatically during a time when we need to conserve every resource possible."
The authors also suggested that both patient and provider characteristics played a role in determining who was able to receive early dialysis. Many of the dialysis centers had emergency plans that helped them be prepared. "Ensuring that hemodialysis patients can maintain access to appropriate renal care through the duration of an emergency is important for both individual and community resilience," the authors added.
They weren't able to determine which patients were offered early dialysis and declined, an important limitation. In addition, there may have been patient character traits not taken into account that could have led them to seek early dialysis.
The research was supported through a CMS DataLink contract with Acumen.
The authors disclosed no relevant relationships with industry.
Reviewed by
F. Perry Wilson, MD, MSCE Assistant Professor, Section of Nephrology, Yale School of Medicine and Dorothy Caputo, MA, BSN, RN, Nurse Planner
Early Dialysis Ahead of Super Storm Linked to Better Outcomes - MedPage Today
Action Points
Patients with kidney disease who received early dialysis ahead of Sandy, the 2012 hurricane that pummeled New York and New Jersey, had better outcomes than those who didn't, says a new study.
Hurricane Sandy proved to be deadly to patients on dialysis, as their 30-day mortality rates rose after flooding and structural damage affected power and transportation. But 60% of the nearly 14,000 patients included in this latest analysis received early dialysis, and they had lower odds of going to the emergency department (odds ratio 0.80, 95% CI 0.67-0.96; P=0.01) and to the hospital (OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.66-0.94; P=0.01), and had a lower 30-day mortality (OR 0.72, 95% CI 0.52-0.997; P=0.048) in the week after the storm, according to the study.
Nicole Lurie, MD, the assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) led the study, which was published in the American Journal of Kidney Diseaseslast week.
"Every disaster holds the potential to impact health and often disproportionately affect people who are medically vulnerable, including people who require dialysis," said Lurie in a press release from the HHS. "This study provides the first evidence that receiving early dialysis in advance of potential disasters helps protect health and saves lives for dialysis patients and suggests that early dialysis should become a standard practice and protective measure."
Rahul Dhawan, DO, at the University of Southern California and the White Memorial Medical Center added that education for dialysis patients and caregivers is important when there's the possibility of a natural disaster.
"This study is an excellent example of how education regarding early dialysis during a storm or natural disaster needs to be more widespread," he wrote in an email to MedPage Today.
Before Hurricane Sandy arrived, nearly 70% of dialysis centers offered early dialysis care on Sunday to their patients who usually came in on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Fewer than 5% of patients with end-stage renal disease had to visit the emergency department following the storm, according to the authors.
They took their data from the CMS Datalink Project. All of the patients were enrolled in Medicare and had at least one claim for maintenance dialysis treatment from Oct. 1 to Oct. 28, 2012, and a discernible dialysis schedule. Patients who received dialysis at home and patients who were in the hospital for the week of the storm were excluded.
Researchers looked at the patients' schedules in the days leading up to the storm and whether they were altered in the few days leading up to the storm. Information about age, sex, race, and onset of dialysis care was also gathered.
Most of the facilities in the analysis (92%) treated at least some patients with early dialysis in the four days before the storm, according to the study. In an unadjusted analysis that didn't control for patient characteristics, patients were also more likely to visit the emergency room (OR 0.75, 95% CI 0.63-0.89; P=0.001) and the hospital (OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.65-0.92; P=0.004), but had similar 30-day mortality rates (OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.58-1.09; P=0.2).
Patients who were eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid had worse outcomes than single eligibility patients (P<0.001). And being nonwhite was associated with a decreased odds for an emergency department visit and for hospitalization (P=0.001).
In addition:
Those with cardiovascular comorbid condition in the month before the storm had higher odds of hospitalization and a higher mortality.
Being hospitalized or visiting the emergency department before the storm was associated with likelihood of returning after the storm and with a higher 30-day mortality.
Being nonwhite and younger was associated with a decreased 30-day mortality rate.
There was widespread variation across the five boroughs of New York City as to the number of centers that offered early dialysis, according to Lurie and colleagues. "These findings suggest that routine availability of early dialysis in advance of a storm is generally achievable and should become standard practice," they wrote.
"These patients, especially those who are at an economic disadvantage (the dual eligible population) must be educated regarding the importance of early dialysis when a natural disaster is on the horizon," added Dhawan. "By emphasizing the importance of this to nurses, primary care doctors, and especially nephrologists, outcomes can improve dramatically during a time when we need to conserve every resource possible."
The authors also suggested that both patient and provider characteristics played a role in determining who was able to receive early dialysis. Many of the dialysis centers had emergency plans that helped them be prepared. "Ensuring that hemodialysis patients can maintain access to appropriate renal care through the duration of an emergency is important for both individual and community resilience," the authors added.
They weren't able to determine which patients were offered early dialysis and declined, an important limitation. In addition, there may have been patient character traits not taken into account that could have led them to seek early dialysis.
The research was supported through a CMS DataLink contract with Acumen.
The authors disclosed no relevant relationships with industry.
Reviewed by
F. Perry Wilson, MD, MSCE Assistant Professor, Section of Nephrology, Yale School of Medicine
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