Is it legal for Davita to do these things??

Specialties Urology

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My fiance recently quit Davita after just 6 weeks of training, he left his job at Davita without having another one lined up (he has a family to take care of). He said he'd rather be homeless than work for Davita, this coming from a person who is very much in love with money. He was talking to me before he went to bed about some of the things that go on at that place. Like for instance there was no pausing the machines when a patient had to use the bathroom, they just lost that time. Or the fact there was no spill kits, he had to get on his hands and knees pour bleach on blood spills and throw pillow cases on it then scrape it up? There was a lot more, but I would be writing a book. He was in tears talking about all the sick and immoral things that go on at the facility. HOW ARE THESE THINGS LEGAL?

There should not be pools of blood anywhere.

Are the lines taped securely? Did someone forget to clamp a line before disconnecting it?....this is of great concern that procedures are not being done correctly.

This is not the norm!

I do not know the situation but the pt to tech ratio is 4 to 1 I believe so I'm assuming someone got sidetracked?

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You could always drop a dime and call the state. Every aspect of dialysis is governed by regulatory agencies and if the things he describes are truly happening there should be other witnesses than your boyfriend. I'm no fan of Davita but clinics are under alot of pressure to make even a small profit. I've read that the medicare reimbursement rate for one treatment is around 130 dollars. Medicare reasons that as long as new clinics are opening then there is still a profit that can be made. It doesn't justify what you describe but I can certainly understand why quality takes a backseat to profitability. Dialysis used to be a bridge to transplantation but now it is a right without any responsibilties on the part of the patient. Eat whatever you want, don't take you're binders, skip treatments and expect the "system" to fix you, I mean what could go wrong with that? I have seen huge blood spills. A patient who wanted to come off the machine ripped both of his needles out. Spill kit? We needed a fire hose to clean that up.

There are other witnesses but everyone just quits and tries to forget the things they've witnessed, there are constant job openings at Davita around here because of this. Who would I call to report?

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Tish88...I sent you a PM.

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Specializes in Dialysis (acute & chronic).
I do not know the situation but the pt to tech ratio is 4 to 1 I believe so I'm assuming someone got sidetracked?

4:1 ratio is good and is very normal.

sorry to hear that your fiance had such a bad experience at the dialysis clinic. This is not the norm.

I have worked for both the large dialysis companies and 2 smaller ones and like I said, that is not normal.

The only time I ever seen blood like that is when over 20 years ago we used lines and dialyzers without luer lock connectors on them and the lines would blow off the dialyzers if they were clotting off or if the lines got kinked and caused + pressure and the would blow!

As for re-using dialyzers, that is not new - they have been doing that for years. These dialyzers are used on the same person each time. They don't share them. Some research says it is better for the patients because they deposit proteins on the fibers and with each use, there is less of a chance of dialyzer reaction. Also, with each use of the dialyzer, the holes get larger in the fibers allowing for more waste product to be removed.

Even worse than re-use dialyzers, in Europe they reused fistula needles and these were shared! There was not enough to go around to all the patients for each treatment. This is where "buttonhole" concept comes in - because after a weeks use of the needles on multiple patients, they became dull.

Lastly, going in and working without being on the clock is "illegal"...if something would happen to him during that time, he would not be covered.

Sounds like the manager/FA of this unit needs to be reported.

He should look at a different clinic, if he is interested in dialysis. Not all clinics run like this one.

As for reporting them to anyone - I am sure they are already being watched by Dept of Health and Medicare/CMS. :uhoh3:

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Specializes in RN, BSN, CHDN.

At my dialysis company we dont use spill kits because when there is a blood spill it tends to be large-we use bleach cloths to mop up the spill.

When we take pt's off dialysis to go to the bathroom they are not put back on dialysis their treatment is finished, as it it considered an infection control issue. We do encourage the pt to reschedule their treatment if there is a long time to completion or we offer bedpans.

A trained tech almost let air into the patient? How-there are lots of safety mechanisms in place to make sure this doesn't happen.

I don't mean to be horrible but a tech who is in training for 6 weeks does not have the knowledge or experience to understand the whole concepts of dialysis, neither does he have the ability to question an experience dialysis tech.

It takes at least a yr to become fully competent, setting up dialysis machines can take 5-6 mins for an experienced tech.

I dont know Davita but there is normally an allowance of 1 hour at the start of the day to get things going. What time was the first patient on? If he started at 4 am I am betting the first pt on would be 5am, this would allow an hour to put machine through test and set up.

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Specializes in Dialysis.
Who would I call to report?

Every state in the union has a department of health. I would start there. It would also help to have names, dates, and times.

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Specializes in Dialysis (acute & chronic).
Every state in the union has a department of health. I would start there. It would also help to have names, dates, and times.

The author of this thread was not the employee - it is her fiance. He should be the one reporting it to the state, since he has all the facts and has witnessed the events.

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You could always drop a dime and call the state. Every aspect of dialysis is governed by regulatory agencies and if the things he describes are truly happening there should be other witnesses than your boyfriend. I'm no fan of Davita but clinics are under alot of pressure to make even a small profit. I've read that the medicare reimbursement rate for one treatment is around 130 dollars. Medicare reasons that as long as new clinics are opening then there is still a profit that can be made. It doesn't justify what you describe but I can certainly understand why quality takes a backseat to profitability. Dialysis used to be a bridge to transplantation but now it is a right without any responsibilties on the part of the patient. Eat whatever you want, don't take you're binders, skip treatments and expect the "system" to fix you, I mean what could go wrong with that? I have seen huge blood spills. A patient who wanted to come off the machine ripped both of his needles out. Spill kit? We needed a fire hose to clean that up.

Individuals on dialysis have a very difficult time because they are not being given enough dialysis. As we know, the average human kidney works 168 hours per week, to expect an individual to survive on only 12 hours per week of dialysis is to defy belief. In fact, most dialysis professionals would choose Nocturnal Dialysis for themselves and their families, what does that say about the dialysis industry? Anytime, someone visits a store in the service industry, they are asked about their experience in the store or place of business. Yet, in the dialysis industry, feedback is not encouraged and generally, it is ignored. However, I seriously doubt that blood spills are being left on the floor, I have never, ever seen that at any dialysis clinic at DaVita. As many of you know, I have been a loud critic of DaVita, probably more than any individual on this board. In fact, in one DaVita clinic, I have never seen so many neat freaks in my life. When blood is spilled at the home clinic, it is to be cleaned up immediately.

I think many folks in the dialysis clinics could be Home Dialysis Consumers, maybe 40 percent. This would leave more time and chairs for the people that truly need them. That is one of the reasons that I left In-Center dialysis, I really did not need it. In fact, when I went In-Center for them to work on my fistula, the trainer was outstanding. I also really like the administrator, good, good lady. You can get rid of binders with 48 hours of dialysis per week, at night, when sleeping. Home Nocturnal Dialysis is very cost effective. :) :yeah: No, I do not do drugs or alcohol, never have and never will. Dialysis patients that do drugs are fools.

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