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Living with kidney disease or end-stage renal failure provides unique and difficult challenges, both to the patient and their friends and family. If you’re reading this article, chances are that you or a loved one is suffering from some kind of kidney problem.
For most serious kidney issues (like end-stage renal failure), the ultimate solution is a kidney transplant. Until a transplant is available, however, the patient will need dialysis. Choosing what kind of dialysis takes a little consideration – and deciding where to have your dialysis is even more complicated.
No doubt you’ve heard of many different dialysis clinics. Today, we’ll review one popular renal care facility – US Renal Care. What’s the history of this company? What treatment do they offer? What do real patients think?
Let’s find out.
There are plenty of dialysis clinics around. Renal care is a serious matter – without proper treatment and dialysis, a patient will die without functioning kidneys.
A good dialysis clinic should offer suitable treatment, reliable care, create a welcoming atmosphere, and put a patient on the path to a transplant if that’s their end goal.
So, how does US Renal Care stand up to these requirements? Before we dive into the patient reviews later on, let’s take some time to learn about US Renal Care as a company, as well as the treatments they can offer.
Established in 2000, US Renal Care focuses on treating patients with kidney complaints that require dialysis. Having over 20 years of renal care experience is a definite bonus here – nobody wants to get treatment from a new and untested healthcare facility!
The US Renal Care Mission, which you can read in full on their website, reads: “Our Mission at U.S. Renal Care is simple: “To be the highest quality provider available to patients with chronic and acute renal disease. We accomplish this mission by partnering with the best Nephrologists in the country, by providing the best trained professional staff in our centers, by demonstrating ultimate customer service, by offering state-of-the-art technology, and by constantly educating patients and families about the disease process.”
US Renal Care claims to focus on patient-oriented treatments with top-rated physicians and equipment, as well as staying involved in the community.
They also claim to offer a warm, welcoming, healing atmosphere. This is an interesting point. While friendly staff won’t actually make much of a difference to the quality of medical treatment administered, they can make a world of difference to a patient – and their friends and family.
You’ll spend a lot of your time at your dialysis clinic, so it’s good to choose a place that makes you feel comfortable.
US Renal Care divides its dialysis treatment into two main sections: In-center hemodialysis and home treatments. What are the differences between these treatments, and what can you expect?
In-center hemodialysis is the most well-known form of dialysis. It involves traveling to a dialysis clinic around three times a week, for a dialysis session lasting 3-5 hours. Blood is taken from a surgically grafted portal in the patient’s arm, run through a dialysis filtering machine, and returned to the body.
There are pros and cons to traditional in-center hemodialysis:
Pros:
Cons:
Your doctor may be able to help you decide whether hemodialysis is the right type of treatment for you.
Home treatments include home dialysis, nocturnal dialysis, and peritoneal dialysis. While the benefits of home treatments may be immediately obvious (who wouldn’t prefer to have their treatment at home, instead of in a medical facility?), it’s important to note the hallmarks of these treatments.
Home dialysis and nocturnal dialysis are nearly always performed using peritoneal dialysis.
Here’s what you should know about peritoneal dialysis:
Speak to your doctor about whether peritoneal dialysis is the right treatment for you.
US Renal Care has over 380 facilities available. If you’re looking for a US Renal Care clinic near you, try using their Find A Center location tool. Especially if you’re choosing in-center hemodialysis, take your traveling times into account.
Remember, you’ll need to travel back and forth to this clinic around three times a week. So, if possible choose somewhere nearby!
Now it’s time for the moment of truth – the patient reviews. Any clinic’s website will talk well about itself, offering all kinds of perks, treatments, and outlining a standard of care its patients can expect.
But is this true?
In our era of Google reviews, one great way to find out whether a clinic really is all that is by reading reviews from real patients, who have either had dialysis at that clinic themselves or have taken a loved one there.
It’s worth noting that, especially in non-profit organizations, the quality of various facilities can vary. Understaffing and low budgets may mean that a clinic isn’t offering the level of care its patients expect. It’s also difficult to assess the authenticity of a review on the internet.
However, healthcare clinics are not grocery stores. They provide medical care and need to keep to a certain standard. With that in mind, we’ve taken all of these reviews at face value.
A dialysis clinic doesn’t just need to deliver excellent medical treatment. As healthcare professionals, they should offer comfort, warmth, and care to patients who are suffering from serious health conditions.
“I can’t even imagine how ANYONE could have a negative review here. I don’t go during the day so I don’t know the staff then. However, I am on the 7:15 PM shift (which I prefer), and EVERY SINGLE person I have had the pleasure of being taken care of and is beyond wonderful to me. Friendly, kind, attentive, and professional all in one. Oh yes, and fun!! They make this horrible situation bearable… Or I would have just given up. They have become my second family and it’s only been a couple of months for me… I have to say, I soooooo want to get better but I will miss these people more than I can say.” – Tracy Terralalovoro
This is the kind of review that you want to read about a clinic. Warmth, comfort, and professionalism can and should coexist in good healthcare professionals. For more reviews from this particular clinic, click here.
Many reviews for dialysis clinics are varied. Each patient is unique with their own personal circumstances and needs. Some patients feel that their needs at fully met at US Renal Care facilities, with others, unfortunately, don’t.
The following reviews, taken from this clinic’s page, range between glowing, five-star reviews, and one worrying one-star review.
“Outstanding. Kind of cold, but I am well taken care of by everyone…” – Susie Blanton (rated five stars)
“Sparkling clean, great staff, performs dialysis with efficiency and care.” – Vince Von Dahlen (rated five stars)
“This place is horrible! My dad has been a patient there for approximately 8 years, having his dialysis done 3 times a week. He and other patients are neglected on a daily basis. Most of these patients have Medi-cal and are treated with very little respect. My dad had an argument with one of the nurses today and was kicked out of the clinic and the police were even called. They denied services and refused treatment. My dad informed them that he needed his dialysis done and was not feeling well and they responded they didn’t care and he had to leave. He called me today and told me what was going on and I will call corporate tomorrow and get my attorney involved if needed. I will also plan to look for another clinic for his care. Beware! Do not let your loved ones seek care here. This is for the Chula Vista location.” – Christina Martinez (rated one star)
That last review is understandably worrying. However, sometimes the reason for varying reviews like this is simply down to bad timing, and maybe one or two inefficient and unfriendly members of staff. Unfortunately, average performance is not what a dialysis patient wants to see.
Let’s not beat around the bush. Sometimes dialysis clinics are not able to give their patients the treatment they need – and they aren’t particularly friendly while they do it.
“Peritoneal staff has a lot of improving to do. Can’t even pass on information properly.” – Daniel Clarke Jr
“Once I got there I didn’t receive a warm welcome at all, management did not come in introduce themselves in addition to that no one informed me about the covid policy…when I told the staff that I couldn’t breathe one day she clearly stated to me I hijacked the conversation…the nurse is the most controlling, disrespectful, aggressive and rude person I have ever come across… I have been dealing with this for 7 months.” – Crystal Sanders-Brown
Lack of communication is a serious problem in a medical facility. Not explaining policies and procedures can lead to confusion, anxiety, and even more serious misunderstandings.
However, patients also need to take control when it comes to their treatments. Being open about what you don’t understand opens the door for effective communication. Also, many non-profits are understaffed. It’s difficult to be understanding when dealing with a serious health problem of your own, but it’s important to realize that clinics deal with hundreds of seriously ill patients a day – and sometimes you won’t get priority.
Dialysis can be a nerve-wracking process. For first-time dialysis patients, the procedure should be fully and completely explained by medical professionals. However, this can depend on the quality of your clinic. A busy, understaffed facility may not have time to properly explain its procedures to a patient.
Even in a warm, welcoming, and informative clinic, it’s still reasonable for a patient to feel nervous before their first few dialysis sessions.
Let’s discuss a few commonly asked questions about US Renal Care, and kidney dialysis in general.
US Renal Care has 380 clinics in over 33 states. This means that finding a dialysis clinic close to you is more likely. Cutting down on traveling times (if you’ve chosen in-center dialysis) can make a real difference to comfort, stress, and recovery times.
Firstly, you’ll be ushered into the clinic and given a comfortable chair to sit in. Most dialysis clinics provide books and TV for their patients to entertain themselves, although you might want to bring some entertainment of your own.
A member of staff will clean and sterilize the location around your dialysis portal (usually in the arm) and insert two needles. One needle withdraws blood, running it through a dialysis filtering machine. The blood is returned to your body via the second needle. This process takes around 3-5 hours.
Dialysis is not a painful procedure. You may experience some side effects, like fatigue, nausea, or abdominal cramps, but these should be mild. Speak to a medical professional, and they may adjust the settings of your dialysis.
Essentially, dialysis is just a mildly boring but necessary procedure.
Yes, your kidneys can start working again after dialysis – but this depends on the root cause of your kidney failure. If the problem which caused your kidneys to stop working in the first place can be treated, your kidneys can begin functioning properly again within a few weeks or months of the treatment.
However, you will need dialysis until your kidneys are up and running again. Dialysis is unfortunately not a cure – it’s just a treatment.
So, is US Renal Clinic the dialysis facility for you? Their years of experience and well set-up, informative website are certainly encouraging. They offer a variety of treatments, including the traditional in-center hemodialysis, and the more modern varieties of dialysis, like peritoneal and nocturnal dialysis.
In short, US Renal Clinic seems to put its patients first, offering flexible schedules and a good variety of treatments. While some of their reviews were negative, there were many more positive reviews than negative ones, leaving US Renal Clinics with overall good star ratings on Google reviews.
It’s worth noting that one bad clinic may not represent the overall quality of a line of clinics. For example, a patient may visit a clinic in Texas, and meet with friendly, helpful, and efficient staff, and enjoy a smooth dialysis procedure. The same patient may visit another clinic in New York, and meet with rude and busy staff, who rush through the procedure, leaving the patient feeling uncomfortable and unwelcome.
Choosing a dialysis clinic is a big decision, and it’s important to keep a balanced view of any dialysis facility you plan to attend. If you can, talk to friends and family who’ve visited that clinic or maybe even worked there. Read Google reviews for that clinic in particular, as well as overall reviews for that brand of the clinic.
If possible, ask to visit the clinic and take a short tour. Are the staff friendly and helpful? Do patients seem happy and comfortable? Is the facility clean?
Of course, we know that choosing a good clinic is not an easy decision. However, always trust your gut. If something feels off about a facility, you’d do well to listen to your instincts. After all, dialysis is a serious, ongoing procedure, and a good clinic and a good team of staff can make all the difference.
