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Access Center adds to complete dialysis care
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Radiologist Dr. Greg Bruno studies a patient's x-ray. |
With the April 2010 opening of the West Tennessee Kidney Specialists Access Center, dialysis patients now have more convenient "access" to complete dialysis care.
The Access Center, at 213 Sterling Farms Drive, provides comprehensive services for end-stage renal disease patients receiving hemodialysis in the greater West Tennessee area.
Dr. Kandala Chary, Dr. Susan Alex, Dr. Shirish Joglekar, Dr. Murty Narapareddy and Dr. R. Mulay, all board-certified nephrologists, consolidated their practices in May 2009 to form West Tennessee Kidney Specialists to provide more comprehensive kidney care to patients across West Tennessee. They opened their nephrology clinic at 221 Sterling Farms Drive.
Last fall, DaVita Inc., a national company that provides dialysis services, opened a dialysis center in the same building.
On April 19, 2010, the West Tennessee Kidney Specialists physicians opened the Access Center because they wanted kidney patients to receive vascular access services in an outpatient setting, the same day a problem is detected and with no impact on dialysis treatment.
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The Access Center offers state-of-the-art |
The nephrologists partnered with five interventional radiologists — Dr. Greg Bruno, Dr. John Crocker, Dr. Matt Graham, Dr. Louis Lucas and Dr. Abdul Quadeer, who are doing the procedures in the Access Center.
The Access Center provides many of the procedures the patient needs to undergo dialysis, which filters impurities from the patient's blood because his or her kidneys can no longer do the job.
A dialysis machine collects blood from a patient's dialysis access, filters out impurities and returns the blood to the same access. A surgeon creates "access" to a patient's vein and artery by creating a fistula, which ties a patient's natural vein and artery together for access, or a graft, which uses a synthetic material to tie the artery and vein together.
The Access Center radiologists perform a variety of procedures that help the process, such as ultrasound to map a patient's veins and arteries in the arm to determine the best place for the fistula or graft, declotting a patient's fistula when a blood clot occurs, or inserting a catheter, which can be used for dialysis in acute dialysis patients or until a fistula works properly. Services provided at the center also include angioplasty, diagnostic venograms, catheter removals and exchanges, and diagnostic physician appointments and follow-ups.
"We all row the boat together," says Tracy Barrett, a registered nurse and Access Center manager, as she explained how the Access Center staff works with dialysis nurses and other caregivers to provide the best care possible for dialysis patients. Instead of going to a hospital for the procedures, the dialysis patient has the convenience, intimacy and personal care provided by the Access Center, she said.
The Access Center is accredited by the Joint Commission.
A ribbon-cutting and grand-opening ceremony for the facility was on May 7; an open house the next day provided tours of the building and the opportunity for the community to interact with the medical staff. Attendees also received educational materials about kidney disease, its care and prevention.
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The DaVita Dialysis Center is in between the Access Center and the clinic for West Tennessee Kidney Specialists. |
The physicians of West Tennessee Kidney Specialists have their main clinics in Jackson and Dyersburg, but also see nephrology patients in satellite offices located in Trenton, Martin, McKenzie, Camden, Brownsville, Bolivar, Covington, Ripley and Savannah. They also serve as medical directors for DaVita dialysis clinics across West Tennessee.
"West Tennessee Kidney Specialists has a reputation in the community for providing quality, patient-focused care while staying in the forefront of research, technology and treatments for patients who suffer from end-stage renal disease and related illnesses," said Dr. Chary.
To reach the Access Center, call 731.668.9995. To contact West Tennessee Kidney Specialists call
731.668.4337.