Two years ago, in the froth and ferment of discontent about the treatment dialysis patients were receiving - or not receiving - through a privately managed publicly funded programme, Jose Cruz came up with the idea to bring a charitable group called WORTH to Belize to set up a free dialysis unit.
At first, it sounded far-fetched, but his persistence brought them to Belize - and after 15 months of working out what the experts like to call, the "modalities" - the WORTH programme is operational in Belize: some of the 32 patients selected are receiving dialysis at two fully outfitted units, one at the KHMH and one in Cayo.
The formal launch for the city unit was held today and 7news was there:….
The KHMH Dialysis Unit was unveiled today with 5 dialysis machines. Dr Wayne Trebbin is the President of the WORTH Foundation which donated the units, the expertise and the supplies:
Dr. Wayne Trebbin, President - WORTH
"We have two dialysis units and they are now functioning really quite frankly as state of the art 21 century modern dialysis. We have already collected some metrics on the patients that have been with us for a few months and the urea reduction ratio in other metrics that we use to measure the quality of what we do shows to be doing in accessory of what we are doing, we are delighted with the staff and the administration for allowing us the opportunity to do this."
The unit will treat 16 or so of the 32 patients with end stage renal stage failure selected for the program. These patients will only be asked to a make a noncompulsory contribution:
Dr. Wayne Trebbin, President - WORTH
"The bottom line is that we are able to deliver dialysis to patients in a manner that causes no financial hardship, that's very important. So we charge the patient according to their ability to pay. In terms of the financing of the dialysis unit and so forth this is done through donations through various partners and it has work."
Trebbin will also be the consulting nephrologist for each patient:
Dr. Wayne Trebbin, President - WORTH
"The way we do this is every day I receive a detail report from the nurses, a daily report of patients and it is a narrative plus a spreadsheet of the blood pressures before and after dialysis; how much blood was process; how much harapathy of the blood was process, how much fluid was taken off the patient, they have made a diagnostic list and other many other things that are variables that we need to complete. I spend a couple of hours every day and then I write back a report telling them what to do the next day."
A team of specialized nurses and technicians will feed him the information in a programme that will cost the government 1.8 million dollars annually:
Dr. Francis Gary Longsworth, CEO - KHMH
"So today represents a commitment by the government of Belize through this national dialysis program to take care of those people affected by end stage renal disease."
Dr. Michael Pitts, Director Of Health Services
"The cost in dollars to the system is conservatively estimated about $90,000.00 per year per patient on hemodialysis. Hemodialysis spending in Belize in the public sector is proposed at 2 million dollars for 32 patients and I would like to tell you that we spend about 3 million dollars for Toledo Health District."
And while the programme just for these 32 patients is 2% of the national health budget, that it even got that level of prominence is due to the tireless awareness and agitation by Jose Cruz, the dialysis patient who championed the rights of those suffering with end stage renal failure, right up until his death in December of 2010:
Grant McPherson, Director, La Loma Luz Hospital
"Mr. Cruz call me the Wednesday before he passed away. I look back at that telephone conversation and I realize that he knew that the end was very close. And he wanted to talk; he wanted one more report about how his new dialysis center was
coming along. We talk almost every week and I give him a little report on how things are going. We didn't always agree with Jose's comments but he always kept his focus on our task. I would like to announce this morning officially that the center in Cayo will be called the Jose Cruz Memorial Dialysis Unit."
That unit is in Cayo and was opened today - and so while there are two publicly funded units in operation, renal failure is a growing problem:
Dr. Francis Gary Longsworth, CEO - KHMH
"End stage renal disease is an evolving problem in Belize as Dr. Pitts pointed out as it is in many parts of the world and the truth is that we do not know the full extent of the problem at this time."
Dr. Michael Pitts, Director Of Health Services
"In health we recognize the ever increasing numbers of end stage renal disease. Numbers that up to this day cannot be
fully catalogue, not here and even internationally. Even in the US they have difficulty in these numbers`. What we know however is that there are certain disease and behaviors in the community that is fueling this level of insult."
Dr. Francis Gary Longsworth, CEO - KHMH
"Which can be avoided in many instances by choices that we make in the way that we live, what we ingest into our bodies, our weight, our levels of physical activity as we go through life, so while dialysis provides a means of treatment it would be far more desirable to avoid getting to the point of requiring dialysis any at all if we can. I would urge us as a society to take urgent steps to improve our quality of life through lifestyle changes since avoidance of the need for dialysis can only benefit us all both individually and collectively as a people."
The launch was also held this afternoon in Santa Elena at the Loma Luz Hospital for the Jose Cruz Unit. We'll show you how that looks on Monday..
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