On Saturday, May 3, the Lufkin Daily News ran an editorial about the closing of our Lufkin Dialysis center. We at the Lufkin Dialysis center want to express our deep sympathy and sincere condolences to those patients and their family members who recently passed away or have experienced health problems. We want the residents of Lufkin to know there are good people who work here and care for the patients every day, and we understand this situation has created difficult and emotional circumstances for them, their families and our own teammates. All of us have been impacted by this situation and are working to ensure that full and appropriate actions are being taken. On behalf of all the patients and teammates employed here at the Lufkin Dialysis Center, we want your readers and the community to know we are a responsible and caring organization and we have taken the following aggressive steps to address this situation:
* In April, we proactively notified all appropriate officials, including state and federal agencies and the Lufkin Police Department, of our concerns. We voluntarily closed this care facility to allow them to conduct a full and complete investigation. We are conducting our own internal review as an added measure to determine and ensure all aspects of patient care and safety are being thoroughly examined.
* We are taking care of our patients and providing all necessary resources to ensure that they continue to receive appropriate, quality care. We are providing transportation assistance to patients who have been transferred to other medical facilities. Many of them have elected to continue receiving their dialysis treatment at other DaVita locations.
* We are supporting our local teammates by continuing to employ their services at other DaVita facilities and enlisting their help with patient transportation services and logistics support for the ongoing investigation. In addition, employee assistance counseling programs are being offered to all of them. Our more than 30 teammates working at this location are eager to have the center reopen so they can get back to caring for their patients.
* We are working in full cooperation with the Lufkin Police Department and we continue to provide administrative support for all the investigating teams involved in this matter. Indications from investigators are that we may be allowed to reopen on a limited basis within the next two weeks or sooner. When this happens is subject to approval of state and local authorities.
It is of critical importance that your readership and our fellow residents understand we must protect the validity and integrity of their efforts and we are unable to comment in detail as the investigations continue.
We greatly appreciate the outpouring of support expressed by our patients and teammates during this difficult situation. All of us are anxious to see this vital community health service reopen. Many of our teammates knew those patients who passed away like friends or family, and they have been deeply and emotionally affected. We hope to reopen the Lufkin dialysis care location at the earliest possible opportunity once we are confident that the safety of this new facility demonstrates our long-term commitment to serving local patient needs. We are proud of our history of service.
Until our facility is approved to reopen, we will continue to work in full cooperation with state, federal and local law enforcement agencies.
