Public Employee Press

Coalition defeats privatization of dialysis clinics

District Council 37, the New York State Nursing Association, the Doctors Council, and a grass roots coalition of public health advocates and patients cheered as the New York State Public Health and Health Planning Council voted down Big Apple Dialysis' application to take over renal dialysis clinics at four city public hospitals.

"This is a victory that mandates the Health and Hospitals Corporation to live up to its mission to provide quality health care - and that means keeping for-profit businesses out of public health facilities," said DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido.

PHHPC took a second vote that keeps the for-profit company's application afloat until late spring so it can review more information on Big Apple's quality and competence.

HHC entered a contract in 2013 with Big Apple, a subsidiary of Atlantic Dialysis, to sell its renal dialysis clinics at Harlem, Kings County, Lincoln, and Metropolitan hospitals. Big Apple would rake in about $15 million annually for services and gain $3 million a year in profits on their $1.14 million payment to HHC for equipment and space in these facilities.

Some 42 percent of Big Apple facilities have a worse than expected mortality rating. From 2010 to 2013, 24 percent, or one in four patients, died in Big Apple's care. Big Apple ranks dead last in the country for chronic renal dialysis care, according to www.medicare.gov.

In comparison, four HHC-operated renal dialysis clinics performed 18 percent better than average. Big Apple runs the dialysis clinic at Elmhurst Hospital and River Renal took over Bellevue's dialysis in 2012.

Big Apple's profit-driven business model erodes HHC's quality of care by replacing Nurses with technicians and cutting staff, including Social Workers and other medical support workers at clinics, while increasing the number of dialysis machines to process more clients. DC 37 leaders said Big Apple sometimes changes the regimen recommended but tells patients it is the same as was prescribed, which seriously jeopardizes the quality of care patients receive.

Big Apple rejects patients who need dialysis but are undocumented and uninsured. Medicare and Medicaid cover the costs of treatment for the majority of patients.

"The unions had hoped their fight against privatization at HHC was over. We are counting on Mayor de Blasio, the City Council and Public Advocate Letitia James to fight to keep Big Apple and any company with abysmal ratings out of the public health care system," said DC 37's Barbara Edmonds.

— DSW