Showdown Looms over Grady Dialysis Clinic
APN recently reported on the situation revolving around the Grady Health System Outpatient Dialysis Clinic, which could close as early as Sept. 19.
A coalition of activists rallied outside Grady Memorial Hospital on Thursday calling on the Grady Memorial Hospital Corporation (GMHC) to delay closing the clinic. Another protest is set for today at 2:30 p.m. outside the hospital.
It’s all leading up to the GMHC meeting scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. today in the Grady board room. At the last meeting in July, the board voted to give staff members permission to begin negotiating a contract with Fresenius Medical Care, the world’s largest provider of dialysis products and services.
If a contract is ready, the board could vote it up or down today, thereby setting in motion the closure of Grady’s clinic. It is also possible the board may decide to delay closing the clinic today because the contract is not ready for approval.
Check back with APN for a full report.
UPDATE 2:19 p.m.:
Right after APN ran its story, the AJC dropped this nugget:
Grady Memorial Hospital is offering to relocate about 60 outpatient dialysis patients to other states or send them back to their home country as the hospital prepares to close the dialysis unit Sunday.
Grady officials say they are willing to spend thousands of dollars to help relocate each patient and their family, including plane tickets, moving expenses and rent security fees.
“We’re committed to ensuring that every patient has a place for care, and every patient gets the right medical care,” said Grady spokesman Matt Gove.
We’ll see if this is enough to satisfy opponents later today.