Dialysis patients band together

By Miriam Ostermann, Associate Editor

When numerous requests for a vital medical service fell on deaf ears – locally, provincially, and federally – residents from Strathmore and area took matters into their own hands by forming a society to lobby for a dialysis unit in Strathmore.
Roughly 10 individuals from Strathmore, Wheatland County, and Siksika Nation are currently involved in the creation of the Strathmore and District Dialysis Society, which aims to bring a dialysis unit to the Strathmore Hospital.
At the moment, patients and family members are footing the bill of travelling to dialysis facilities in Calgary and Drumheller – a situation they say is affecting their quality of life and posing a financial burden.
Many patients require dialysis – a treatment that takes over your kidney functions when those organs fail – several times a week for roughly a four-hour duration. For those travelling from as far away as Siksika Nation, residents are travelling an hour-and-a-half to reach the closest centre in Calgary. While the bill can quickly total $100 per trip – in gas and meals – residents can claim a portion of it on their income tax.
Yet for Strathmore’s Mike Cooper, along with other residents in the area, having a dialysis unit in Strathmore is crucial – especially in the winter months when road conditions can be treacherous.
“It started with my wife being on dialysis, and the biggest thing is a couple of times I didn’t think I was going to be able to get there and that’s a life and death situation; you have to have your kidney dialysis or you get very ill,” said Cooper, who mentioned the ice forced him off the road at least once while on his way to the treatment centre in Calgary.
“People have to have it. If something happens and people can’t make it, what do we do? Do we call essential services? I was told that would be a heck of a bill.”
Cooper knows of at least 16 people in the area that are currently relying on dialysis treatment. In the past, individuals have approached the Town of Strathmore, the member of parliament’s office, and the office of the member of the legislative assembly. With little response, the group banded together and is now ready to file the paperwork to form the society, attract more members and people on dialysis, and make a greater impact as a united front.
“Individuals can be shrugged off, but a group is a little bit more intimidating,” said Don Geiger, a member of the society who has friends on dialysis. “There’s never been a group effort to have it done. The ag society has a board of directors of 12 and they have a whole bunch of members, so when they say something they have a big voice behind them, where here it’s one or two people at a time and they don’t have a voice behind them. Hopefully we’ll have that voice.”
That voice extends to family members. In the case of Roy Little Chief, his wife used to take him to his treatments three times a week since 2008. Now in her 60s, the travel became too much and in turn Little Chief’s son put his life on hold to take care of the family’s medical needs. While the family does receive some monetary assistance from the first nation’s band, it barely covers the cost of gas per trip.
“I’m not happy with the way the dialysis patients are being treated from our reserve, (Calgary’s medical services) don’t seem to understand what we go through,” said Little Chief. “Three times a week, close to eight to 10 hours before we get home. From here to Strathmore it’d be 15 minutes to get there, but that’s one of the problems we face from the reserve going to dialysis in Calgary.”
One of the biggest challenges the members have faced is retrieving statistics and information from the government. With several dialysis units in Calgary, including the South Calgary Health Centre and Peter Lougheed Centre – the closest to Strathmore – and in Drumheller, those seeking the service are generally grouped with the same people for their appointments and therefore are unaware of how many more people from the area are at the other locations.
Strathmore-Brooks MLA Derek Fildebrandt had been approached by individuals regarding the situation in the past and with his father-in-law in the same position for years, Fildebrandt is eager to work together with the society and lobby on their behalf on the provincial level.
“The transportation costs alone for receiving dialysis treatment are pretty significant especially for seniors and people on fixed incomes,” said Fildebrandt. “What we have right now maybe worked when Strathmore was 10,000 people but I think we’re quickly approaching the point where we’ll probably have the numbers to warrant it and where we’re going to have a strong case to make. But it’s going to take a lot of community involvement and possibly some fundraising.”
Fildebrandt spoke of the success Brooks and Newell had in fundraising for the capital construction cost of their dialysis unit. He believes it is now time for Strathmore to receive a unit of their own, adding that the renovations to the hospital may pose the opportune time. However, the provincial politician understands turning the vision into reality.
“I’m completely supportive but there’s a lot of work to do before we get there and unfortunately there’s a lot of red tape to cut through, but if we proceed the way the Brooks & District Health Foundation has and start raising some money I think our chances of getting a dialysis unit in Strathmore go up very significantly,” he added.
“I want to work with this group to set some objectives to what this looks like and come to an agreement on that so while they can work on fundraising, I can work on trying to secure a commitment from the government to fund a dialysis unit when we achieve our fundraising goals.”
For now, the members will continue to send letters to local and provincial politicians while in the process of establishing the society.
Anyone on dialysis or interested in helping with the society is encouraged to contact Don Geiger at dcgeiger@telus.net.