NN&I - July 2010
AFTERTHOUGHTS 60 Nephrology News & Issues July 2010Subscribe to our free eNewsletter at www.nephronline.com Compiled by Rebecca ZumoffHow patients and providers weathered the Nashville floodHow a tattoo can monitor blood sugar Chef aims to cook well without saltResilient. That word came up several times to describe dialysis patients in flooded regions of middle Tennessee during my interviews with renal com -munity members. No one was fully prepared for the magnitude of the destruction caused by Nashville's "100-year flood" (called this because the level of flood water equaled or exceeded that of their 100-year aver -age combined). But patients and health care providers did not let the flood waters keep them down. With most clinics up and running with electricity and safe water, closed public transportation and flooded roads were the biggest obstacles to treatment that dialysis patients faced. But renal community members did have to offer help to some patients and clinic work -ers who have lost homes. Theresa Davidson, CEO of the Tennessee Kidney Foundation, said she knew of a patient who had to cross a river to get to his clinic because of a bridge that had been destroyed in the storm. "Nashville as a whole, and dialysis patients in particular have been very resilient about handling this storm," Davidson told NN&I . The Tennessee Kidney Foundation had a cab ser -vice set up for patients who were unable to find transportation to their clinics. "We were actually really lucky in mid-dle Tennessee," Dana Talley, regional vice president of Fresenius Medical Care North America who oversaw FMCNA's relief efforts for the flood, told NN&I. "We had emergency plans in place but we did not need them." Fresenius, which has generators and temporary housing on reserve for disas- ters, had one clinic close for one treat -ment day because the facility lacked a power and water supply. Talley said Fresenius was most concerned about water integrity issues. Two pumps in the surrounding cities did go out, but backup systems were already in place. Fresenius, as well as other provid-ers in the area, extended clinic hours to give patients more time for transporta -tion. "We did not close the doors until everyone was dialyzed," Talley said. Of 1,200 Fresenius patients at 16 clinics in the area, only 22 missed a day of treat -ment. "Our patients were very resilient about making it to their clinics." A new way to monitor blood sugar sounds like something out of science fiction. Receive a tat -too on your wrist that can be read under an infrared light. The technology, conceived by researchers at MIT, involves a sensor based on carbon nanotubes wrapped in a polymer that is sensitive to glucose concentrations. When this sensor encounters glucose, the nanotubes fluoresce, which can be detected by shining near-infrared light on them. Measuring the amount of fluorescence reveals the concentration of glucose. The researchers plan to create an "ink" of these nanoparticles suspended in a saline solution that could be injected under the skin like a tattoo. The "tattoo" would last for a specified length of time, probably six months, before needing to be refreshed. Wayne Johnson, executive chef of Andaluca, a Mediterranean-style restaurant in downtown Seattle, appeared June 5 at Northwest Kidney Centers' 8th annual "Kidney Health Fest for African American Families" to demon -strate how to create kidney-friend-ly meals that don't lack in flavor in order to promote healthy habits. "What we were trying to do is help young minority kids under -stand a little bit more about eating healthy," Johnson said. Afterthoughts_NNI0710_5.indd 60 6/16/10 1:39:20 PM
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