YOUNGSTOWN 2 patients file lawsuits against dialysis center

The center closed for more than a month after patients got sick in August.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Two patients who became ill after treatment at Physicians Dialysis Center last summer are suing the facility.
Charles J. Lowry Sr. of Mansell Drive, Liberty, and Renee Chesney of Lenox Avenue, Youngstown, are seeking unspecified damages in separate lawsuits filed in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. Chesney's husband, Robert, is also suing.
Also named as defendants are Renal Care Group of Knoxville, Tenn., Northeast Ohio Kidney Group of Youngstown, Dayton Water Systems of Dayton, and United States Filter Corp. of Los Angeles.
Both suits accuse the companies of negligence, medical malpractice and product liability.
Aileen Katcher, spokeswoman for Physicians Dialysis Center, said she was not aware of the suits and would not comment on them.
The dialysis center on Belmont Avenue was closed for more than a month after 20 patients fell ill after receiving treatment there Aug. 30, 2000. Two of those patients died.
Lowry and Chesney say in their suits that they had to be hospitalized for complications as a result of their dialysis treatments that day.
High bacterial levels: Subsequent testing showed there were elevated bacterial levels in the water supply being used in the dialysis treatments.
The center had a practice of reusing filters that cleanse blood, even though the filters were meant only for single use to prevent bacterial contamination, the suits say.
The defendants failed to properly maintain the water system to ensure water quality for dialysis patients, failed to properly flush and disinfect the water treatment system, and failed to appropriately change water filters to prevent buildup of bacteria in the water, the suits say.
Changes made: Katcher said the dialysis center made massive upgrades before it reopened in October, including installation of a new water system, making it a state-of-the-art facility.
"Patients have been supportive of the changes at the facility and as far as I know everything is going fine," she said.
An Ohio Department of Health report released in September 2000 said the center's water systems were flawed, but it drew no conclusions about what caused the patients to get sick.
The report also said the center was failing to flush the water purifiers for 15 minutes every four hours as recommended by the systems' manufacturers.