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| Press Releases & Stories |
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Spotlight: Fresenius Medical Care Dialysis
Center of Glendale
Providing Hope
By Keith Chartier
From Renal Biz Today 8-31-07
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Sometimes it’s the simplest actions that can jump-start change. After
hearing that triathlete and dialysis patient Shad Ireland was going to
be in town to discuss his personal experience and his foundation,
Fresenius Phoenix area manager Bill Pelley notified all the clinics in
his area and put up fliers to get the word out about the meet-and-
greet.
In turn, Javier Rosas noticed the flyer on the bulletin board as he
was walking out of the Fresenius Medical Care Center of Glendale
(Ariz.) after a routine session one day. He had read about Shad
before and decided he wanted to go see the talk. “This is a chance
to speak to this guy and hear his story,” Rosas said.
Rosas, 48, began dialysis March 15, 2000, or the Ides of March—a
day William Shakespeare made synonymous with impending doom.
He had his ups and downs over the years—including
hospitalizations—but instead of giving into the downfalls of dialysis,
Rosas decided to take back control of his life. He has since enrolled
in a degree program at a local community college, and going to see
Shad speak was an extension of his will to gain back control.
At the talk, Rosas learned of Shad’s fitness grant program in which a
dialysis patient receives funds and guidance to get back into shape.
One of the strengths of Ireland’s program is that dialysis patients
can hear a success story from someone who has been in their
shoes. Ireland overcame years of personal struggle and in 2004 he
became the first dialysis patient to complete an IronMan triathlon,
which includes a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile
run. “I’m going to tend to listen more to a person who is on dialysis,
especially if that person has done something out of the ordinary,”
Rosas said. “It’s pretty difficult for a person who has not been on
dialysis to understand what it entails.”
Like the other 125 grant recipients, Rosas went online and applied
for his own grant. He also had to submit a photo, some release
forms and a doctor acknowledgement form. Ireland said the doctor
acknowledgment form is a way for patients and healthcare providers
to start conversations about physical fitness. Once Ireland receives
an application, he’ll make sure everything is there, and then notify
the patient. In that conversation he’ll speak to the patients about
their goals and dreams, which will be the springboard for how their
personal program is set up.
“My goal is not to get
every dialysis patient to
do a triathlon,” Ireland
said. “If they want to, I’d
support them. But
success is defined by the
individual. If their goal is
to walk to the mailbox,
we’ll develop a program
to facilitate that.
Whatever their goal is,
once they’ve achieved
that, that’s success.” |
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The program currently
has a 97 percent success rate, according to Ireland, and grants
have been given to people between 10 and 80 years old and are, on
average, between $500 and $1,000. Fresenius is the title sponsor of
Team Ireland—the triathlon team— and has also been a major
contributor to the Shad Ireland Foundation. Personal programs have
ranged from providing a patient with fishing poles to gym
memberships to putting a treadmill inside a patient’s home. Ireland
said time with a personal trainer is the number one grant request.
As a result of seeing Shad, Rosas was awarded a grant from the
Shad Ireland Foundation to start a program to get him fit and, one
day, compete in a triathlon alongside Shad. “For me, the whole goal
is to get strong enough and have the energy to become a productive
member of society once again,” Rosas said. “That’s the reason I’m
working on this degree and everything else. My ultimate goal is to
get back into the workforce and be independent again.”
Rosas will have a gym membership and is also in contact with
Ireland about how to develop a program specific to the needs of a
dialysis patient.
Fellow dialysis patients can also become inspired to get physically fit
by seeing their peers get active. “His station mates know about it,”
Pelley said. “And they are cheering him on.”
Ireland and Pelley both spoke to Fresenius’ UltraCare philosophy as
part of the drive behind getting patients involved in fitness programs.
“It’s really everybody buying into giving the patient the best possible
treatment every treatment they’re here,” Pelley said. “The
philosophy is that if we give the best care in the nation, patients will
be healthier and they’ll actually want to come for all their
treatments.”
And becoming physically fit is an essential ingredient in patient’s
becoming involved in their own care. They feel better and can avoid
hospitalization, said Ireland. “It’s very important to have a physician
on board with this concept of rehabilitation,” he said. “The bottom
line is that fitness needs to be written in as a prescription.” RBT |
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