Dalton gets transplant option

Emily Bregel

Nov. 21, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- DALTON, Ga. -- Transplant experts at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta are hoping to give a chance of life to more North Georgia and Southeast Tennessee residents with organ failure.

The hospital's new transplant services satellite clinic at Hamilton Medical Center in Dalton will help locate and educate dialysis patients about the benefits of transplantation and ways to pay for the surgery and care.

"Only 11 percent of the patients that are on dialysis (with end-stage renal disease) are actually listed for transplants" in the Dalton area, said Noreen Carew, administrative director for Piedmont's transplant services.

Many patients are discouraged by the costs or don't know their options, said Dr. Carlos F. Zayas, medical director for transplant nephrology at Piedmont. He said patients on a waiting list in Tennessee could increase their chances of finding a donor if they also get on the Georgia list.

The new satellite clinic also will be convenient for area kidney or pancreas transplant patients to receive pre- and post-operative care, coordinators say. About half of Piedmont Hospital's transplant patients come from outside the Atlanta area, officials said.

"The issue is just the distance. With the economic downturn, people are having a hard time traveling to Atlanta. Satellite clinics do help patients tremendously," Dr. Zayas said.

Dr. David Dennard, a nephrologist with Nephrology and Hypertension Specialists in Dalton who helped plan the Dalton clinic, said there's "tremendous benefit" for patients to get treated locally.

Silvercreek, Ga., resident Bobby Pearson, who received a kidney transplant at Piedmont in August, went to the first open clinic in Dalton in October for a follow-up appointment.

"I like going down to Piedmont Hospital when I need to, but if you have to fight that traffic every morning, it's just such a stressful thing," said the 58-year-old sheriff's deputy.

The new clinic is Piedmont's third transplant satellite. The first opened in Savannah in December, 2007, and a second opened in Albany, Ga., in February.

In Dalton, the Piedmont clinic will be open one day every three months in space leased from Hamilton Medical Center. Staff will include a nephrologist, dietitian and social worker employed by the hospital.

As volume builds, the clinic will open monthly, and doctors also hope to add telemedicine capabilities to connect patients with Piedmont.

At other times, the space is used by eye doctors.

ON THE WEB

The Georgia Transplant Foundation provides financial and education assistance: www.gatransplant.org.

PIEDMONT HOSPITAL'S TRANSPLANT PROGRAM

Piedmont Hospital's transplant program:

--Joint transplant program with Emory University Hospital: 1986-1998

--Piedmont's solo program started: 1999

--Total transplants performed: 2,072

--Kidney transplants: 103

--Simultaneous kidney and pancreas transplants: 9

--Liver transplants: 66

(Kidney, liver, pancreas transplant numbers to date for 2009)

Source: Dr. Carlos Zayas, transplant nephrologist, Piedmont Hospital

TRANSPLANT CLINIC

--Services: Community outreach, education classes, financial and dietary counseling, initial candidate screenings, lab work, follow-up appointments

--Address: 1109 Burleyson Road, Suite 101, Dalton, Ga.

--Size of space: 1,745 square feet

--Next Dalton clinic: Feb. 18, 2010

--Contact: Jan Lorenz, satellite clinic coordinator, 404-290-9905

Newstex ID: KRTB-0202-39912838