People with poor communication from city officials will irritate Weirton dialysis and affect patient care

Weirton, W. Va. – Weirton dialysis is facing serious challenges due to Weirton's ongoing water situation, making it difficult to provide the care it needs to patients.

On December 20th, the facility lost something necessary for dialysis treatment.

“We had patients in the building,” said Michael Burgess, Regional Technical Operations Manager at Fresenius Medical Care.

Burgess said city officials had not been notified of water issues.

“Every six months we send letters to them, stating that we are a dialysis facility in the area and that it changes with the water that something needs to know.”

Without the right water pressure, their equipment cannot run properly.

“There are carbon tanks that remove all chlorine, which removes all the dissolved solids, and there are contaminants in the water,” Burgess said.

To address this issue, they rely on water trucks to supply the correct water pressure. But Burgess said it was difficult to even arrange it. After the companies were able to respond and provide water, proper care had not yet been delivered.

“So it kept us online, but we had to lower the flow rate of the machine, so the patient wasn't undergoing sufficient dialysis at that point, and we We had enough of them,” Burgess said.

He added that lack of communication is the most frustrating part, and that he has been in the business for over 30 years and has never experienced anything like this.

“No one could give us an answer on how long this will last, or what other things we can do,” Burgess said. “We called the emergency management system.”

As they continue to adapt, Burgess said the main concern remains patient.

This situation also places a financial burden on the facility as it requires paying for the water truck.

“It's about $2,000 a day for that truck to sit there to supply us with water,” Burgess said.