Dialysis Patients Urged To Brace For Winter Storms Across U.S.

Main Category: Urology / Nephrology
Article Date: 28 Jan 2009 - 8:00 PDT

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As snow and ice storms blanket much of the country, Fresenius Medical Care North America, operator of the nation's leading network of dialysis facilities, encourages all dialysis patients in the affected areas to be prepared for bad weather.

Winter weather, an unpredictable mix of freezing temperatures and heavy precipitation, can cause power outages and poor driving conditions that may interfere with dialysis patients' regular treatment schedules. Fresenius Medical Care North America encourages patients to be prepared for bad weather and offers the following advice:

- Keep your emergency phone numbers handy. When bad weather threatens, contact your local clinic and follow instructions they may provide.

Fresenius offers a patient hotline at 1 (800) 626-1297, which is staffed by customer service specialists 24 hours a day who can provide locations and contact numbers for alternate facilities if necessary.

- Talk to your doctor, dialysis care team and family about your disaster plan - what you should do and where you should go if a disaster strikes. Keep track of local weather forecasts.

- Keep proper emergency supplies on hand, such as a first-aid kit, flashlight (with extra batteries), blankets, battery-powered radio, cell phone, non-electric can opener and any needed medications.

- If you are an in-center patient, arrange for back-up transportation to the clinic with a friend, neighbor or family member.

- If you are a home dialysis patient and you lose power, follow the directions given to you by the home training staff for continuing dialysis in an emergency.

- If you are diabetic, ask your doctor how to adjust your insulin dosage during winter storm emergencies.

All Fresenius Medical Care facilities share the company's UltraCare® mission of delivering excellent care to patients through innovative programs, the latest technology, continuous quality improvement and a focus on superior customer service.

Dialysis is a life-sustaining process that cleans waste products from the blood, removes extra fluids, and controls the body's chemistry when a person's kidneys fail. Dialysis patients typically require treatment on an ongoing basis unless they receive a kidney transplant.

About Fresenius Medical Care North America

Fresenius Medical Care North America is a subsidiary of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA, the world's largest integrated provider of products and services for individuals undergoing dialysis because of chronic kidney failure, a condition that affects more than 1,600,000 individuals worldwide. Through its network of 2,349 dialysis clinics in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia-Pacific and Africa, Fresenius Medical Care provides dialysis treatment to approximately 181,900 patients around the globe. Fresenius Medical Care is also the world's leading provider of dialysis products such as hemodialysis machines, dialyzers and related disposable products. Fresenius Medical Care is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FME, FME3) and the New York Stock Exchange (FMS, FMS-p).

For more information about Fresenius Medical Care's U.S. network of more than 1,650 dialysis facilities, visit the Company's website at http://www.ultracare-dialysis.com(in English and Spanish). For more information about Fresenius Medical Care, visit the Company's websites: http://www.fmcna.com or http://www.fmc-ag.com.

Fresenius Medical Care North America