On May 2, 2008, Greenfield Health Systems joined 17 other Administrators from around the US to lobby at the NRAA sponsored Day on the Hill. Kathleen Radtke, Director, Dialysis Services, and Kristie Lewis, MSW, Greenfield-Taylor Dialysis, met with 2 Senate offices and 2 House Representatives to garner support for a 2008 increase to the Medicare composite rate and a market basket update for ESRD programs. Two patients, Judy Mclaughlin from GHS-St. Joseph Pontiac Dialysis and Chris Morris from GHS-West Pavilion Dialysis also added their stories about their dialysis experience. All four Congressional Legislative aides agreed to support legislation to increase reimbursement for ESRD. - Kathleen Radtke
NEWS
NEW MACOMB REGIONAL DIALYSIS UNIT OPENSThe Open House took place on April 24, 2008. It is our newest facility on the campus of the Macomb Henry Ford Hospital 16151 19 Mile Rd. Ste 200
Clinton Twp, MI 48038, with 15 stations and both Home PD and Home Hemo programs. Currently, we are up to 13 incenter, 4 PD and 1 Home Hemo patient. The picture is from left to right: Kathleen Radtke, David Shepherd, Mrs. Effendi, Dr. Effendi, Carol Abdelnour, Bob Guha and Dr. Ayyoub. The second picture is one of the unit.
Each year more than 100,000 patients begin dialysis as a result of kidney failure. Now, these patients in Macomb County have a great new alternative for their dialysis care. Greenfield Health Systems (GHS), the System’s dialysis program provider, has partnered with Drs. Abdul Effendi and Faten Ayyoub at the Macomb County site. Both are Henry Ford-trained physicians now in private practice. The partnership offers Macomb County patients better access to in-center hemodialysis, home peritoneal and home hemodialysis programs, in a newly renovated 8,000-square-foot, 15-station unit located in the medical office building on the Henry Ford Macomb Hospital campus. The Macomb Regional Dialysis Center, as it is known, is able to treat 45 patients a day and features new equipment, flat panel TVs for patients at each station, and an on-site social worker, nutritionist and doctor. The site also is rapidly expanding its home hemodialysis program. “We’ve had a great opportunity to provide a center closer to home for many patients who were traveling long distances for in-center dialysis,” says David Shepherd, vice-president of Greenfield Health Systems. “For the System, this was a strategic fiscal investment that is helping to build new external relationships, has increased Health Alliance Plan’s service area, and has provided potential growth for Henry Ford Macomb Hospital admissions and use of hospital ancillary services.”The Macomb Regional Dialysis Center is located at 16151 19 Mile Road, 2nd Floor, Suite 200 in Clinton Township. The center’s phone number is (586) 263-8350.
The site is one of four that Shepherd plans to open for dialysis treatment over the next year, all part of the award-winning dialysis care provided through GHS, a market leader in home dialysis services. GHS has the fastest-growing home hemodialysis program in the country. Macomb patients are already taking advantage of this program, since they often live in more rural portions of the county that require a substantial commute to in-center sites, Shepherd says. GHS cares for one of every three dialysis patients in the tri-county area, and includes 12 home dialysis programs, 12 in-center dialysis programs and 20 hospital programs, with operations in both Michigan and Ohio. In addition to serving Henry Ford patients, GHS receives referrals from every major health care provider in southeast Michigan.
Effective Management of Chronic Kidney Disease:
"A Forum for Payors”Held June 27, 2007 at the Sheraton-Novi
On June 27, 2007, Greenfield Health Systems, in conjunction with Henry Ford Health System, sponsored a Payor Educational Forum at the Sheraton in Novi, entitled “Effective Management of Chronic Kidney Disease”. Approximately 50 people were in attendance to enjoy breakfast and three presentations.
After an opening welcome by David Shepherd, CEO of Greenfield, Dr. Jerry Yee (Division Head of HFH Nephrology & Hypertension and Medical Director of Greenfield) provided a “CKD Overview: Paying Too Little or Too Little Prevention”. Dr. Anatole Besarab, Nephrologist at HFH Division of Nephrology & Hypertension and Clinical Professor of Internal Medicine at Wayne State University) discussed “ESA Management of CKD Patients: What’s Current, What’s Coming”.
The morning closed with an interesting presentation entitled “ESRD Modality Selection at Initiation: Early Transplantation vs. Dialysis” provided by Dr. Allan Collins, Director of Nephrology Analytical Services and Professor Medicine at the University of Minnesota. (All three of these presentations are available on this website)
ESA Management of CKD Patients :ESA Management of CKD Patients :
WhatWhat’’s Current, Whats Current, What’’s Comings Coming (Read) - Dr. Anatole BesarabESRD Modality Selection at Initiation: Early Transplantation vs Dialysis (Read) - Dr. Allan Collins
CKD Overview: Paying Too Little or Too Little Prevention (Read) - Dr. Jerry Yee
Evaluations received were very positive and included such comments as “Speakers were fabulous”; “Whole program was very good. Learned a lot I didn’t know”; and “Very practical and useful information”. Several helpful suggestions for future topics were also provided.
Kathleen Radtke, Director, Dialysis Services, Greenfield Health Systems, is heading a contingent of patients and staff to lobby in Washington, DC on May 15 and 16, 2007 for passage of the Kidney Care Quality and Education Act of 2007 (Senate Bill #691 and House H.R. 1193). Kathleen and Kristie Lewis, MSW, along with two GHS patients, Margie McCall who dialyzes at Fairlane and Mr. Munson who dialyzes at St. Joe Pontiac, will meet with Senator Debbie Stabenow, and legislative policy aides to Representative Candice Miller, Representative Joseph Knollenberg and Representative John Dingall.
The bill is especially important to ESRD patients and facilities with its creation of an automatic market basket update for the Medicare ESRD Composite Rate reimbursement for years 2008-2010, 5-year Demonstration Projects covering education services for Kidney Disease, Blood flow Monitoring study, and barriers to increasing the number of patients electing home modalities.
Another mandate of the bill is that Patient Care Technicians become nationally certified in recognized training programs as of 1/1/09, and the establishment of the ESRD Advisory Committee, consisting of representatives from patients, providers, physicians, nurses, pediatric providers, payers and insurers, and CMS which will create a forum for expert discussion and recommendations to the Secretary of HHS on Quality of Life measures and payment structure. The Bill also entails a review of savings in the Medicare Part A Trust Fund, changes to the Medicare Secondary Payer period, and a CQI initiative to reward providers who demonstrate improvements in quality or attainments of quality benchmarks.
Greenfield Health Systems
Renal Care Symposium 2006: It's Not Just Dialysis Anymore
Wednesday, October 11 & Thursday, October 12, 2006Embassy Suites of Livonia
19525 Victor Parkway
Livonia, MILeslie Ford-LePard-
Once again, we had great success at our annual renal symposium which was held at the Embassy Suites in Livonia, Michigan on October 11 & 12.
This year’s theme was “It’s Not Just Dialysis Anymore”.
The speakers spoke about such diverse topics as “Home Hemodialysis in the United States and Around the World” and “Promoting Patient Participation in the Dialysis Setting”. Attendees also learned about gastroparesis in patients with renal disease; heard an update on renal osteodystrophy; heard about new developments in the transplantation donor list; and also heard a fascinating update from Dr. Humes on “Stem Cells and Bioartificial Devices (RAD) for Kidney Replacement Therapy”. Dr. Humes is one of our most requested speakers; long time attendees of our renal symposium have been able to follow his research from its infancy to its present level of development.
Several vendors participated in our vendor display, offering helpful educational materials as well as very nice “give-aways”. This year, our own daily home hemodialysis program had a table; people who stopped by had the opportunity to learn about the benefits of daily home hemodialysis for their patients, as well as receive our “Going Home With Greenfield” “give-aways”.
Greenfield Health Systems’ 2007 Renal Symposium will be held on October 10 & 11. Plan now to attend!
Meeting Announcement : 12/05/2006
Tech Meeting: Tech Leader BioMed Meeting Tuesday Dec 5th, 10 AM - 2PM @ Bingham Farms.
See Dennis Schell for details: (419) 389-9681
WASHINGTON UPDATE: 09/27/2006
Greenfield Health Systems visit to Washington, D.C.On June 13, 2006, Kathleen Radtke, director for Greenfield Health Systems, and Kristie Lewis, MSW, visited Washington, D.C. to lobby for co-sponsors of HR 1298 and Senate bill 635, the Kidney Care Quality and Improvement Act. With them were two dialysis patients, Margie McCall and Roderick Shelby who were instrumental in giving the Congressmen and their policy aides insight from the patient perspective, including the current issues with Medicare prescription coverage. The group met with Senator Deborah Stabenaw, Senator Carl Levin, Representative Thaddeus McCotter, as well as their Policy Advisors, and Morna Miller, aide to Representative Sander Levin. They were successful in obtaining support and co-sponsorship of the bill from Senators Stabenaw and Levin and Representative McCotter.
Representative McCotter also toured our Fairlane unit on August 23, 2006. After a brief presentation by David Shepherd, vice president of Greenfield Health Systems, on issues related to renal disease, Representative McCotter spoke with several of our patients. They educated him on what it is like to live life on dialysis.
Greenfield Health Systems thanks Representative McCotter for his time and for his interest in our dialysis patients.
Pictured: Roderick Shelby, Kristie Lewis, Lisa Layman, Margie McCall
Pictured: Kathleen Radtke, Roderick Shelby, Senator Deborah Stabenaw, Kristie Lewis, Margie McCall
Pictured: Margie McCall, Roderick Shelby, Rep Thaddeus McCotter, Kristie Lewis
Representative McCotter also toured our Fairlane unit on August 23, 2006
Pictured: Representative Thaddeus McCotter, Margie McCall, Kathleen Radtke, Kristie Lewis
Pictured: Dr. Bhat, M.D., Representative Thaddeus McCotter, Diane Carroll
Pictured: David Shepherd, Doris Mills, Representative Thaddeus McCotter, Dr. Bhat, M.D., Bill Poirier
Pictured: Margie McCall, Representative Thaddeus McCotter, Bill Poirier
Pictured: Bob Guha, Dr. Gavini, M.D., Dr. Nguyen, M.D., Representative Thaddeus McCotter, Margie McCall, Dr. Bhat, M.D., Bill Poirier,
Kathleen Radtke, Kristie Lewis, Mike Ariss
DATABASE UPDATE: 8/01/2005
FDS08 software version 8.5 has arrived and is undergoing testing at our training center. As promised here are some of the delivered improvements.Order entry at chairside
Viewing last 3 treatments at chairside
Pt ID showing up on patient list at chairside
Code enhancements
Bug Fixes (like missing data issues)
Receiving On Line Clearance and Blood Temp Data
Receiving Heparin data
Increased medication and complication lists.DATABASE UPDATE: 3/23/2005
The new web database in now in place and functional. There are no longer any restrictions on 'time of day' type batch requests or reports. Thank you for your patience during the conversion. We hope to design a nicer and more powerful system for the future.
