Human Decency Close to Death in the Good Old US of A

I was prowling for interesting news bits on CNN today when I came upon the following article. The article itself was not so special, but the overwhelming negative response certainly was. I had to ask myself, where is all of this hatred for the Obama Administration taking US?

There is nothing wrong with being a decent human being. We would provide dialysis to a death row murderer. We have spent more money trying to save the whales. If we stood by and let someone perish when we had the power to help, it would be a criminal act.

Anyway, here is the article. I did not copy the comments, but you can follow the CNN link on the sidebar of my blog and look in the Health section.


Illegal immigrants to receive dialysis care

Post by: Madison Park - CNNhealth.com Writer/Producer

A tentative agreement has been reached to provide 38 Atlanta, Georgia, area patients – most of whom are illegal immigrants - with continuous dialysis care, free of charge. The ruling settles a case that drew national attention and raised thorny ethical and financial questions about who should administer health care and pay for the medical bills of illegal immigrants.

Last year a dialysis clinic attached to a public hospital closed, leaving about 60 patients with no place to get the life saving treatment. They were offered help to return to their countries of origin by Grady Memorial Hospital.

Undocumented patients wary of offers to return to home countries

After some controversy, Grady agreed to pay for the dialysis of the patients who remained in the area for a year until other arrangements could be made. The latest agreement will send the 38 remaining patients to receive charity care at Fresenius Medical Services, Emory Hospital or DaVita Inc.

Exactly how many patients each center will receive and the expenses have yet to be worked out, said Matt Gove, a spokesman for Atlanta's Grady Memorial Hospital.

Five patients who returned to Mexico died. Whether their death related to inadequate access to dialysis is unknown, Gove said. Four patients who remained in Atlanta and continued to receive dialysis also passed away, he said.

Even with dialysis, only 35 percent of patients survive for more than five years. The process is draining and occurs three times a week in three to five hour sessions. Dialysis can only replace about 13 percent of the kidney function. End-stage renal disease or chronic kidney failure can only be fully treated with a transplant.