February 2016 by Bill Netter
I've been a patient at Davita Macomb Kidney Center since May 21st, 2014. Like any new place that someone starts going to, at first everything and everyone seemed to almost be like robots, everyone filing in for treatment, then filing out when done. Technicians going around taking care of patients. And a constant beeping from alarms going off from the dialysis machines, warning of various problems with individuals treatments. It's not overwhelming, but a new patient might feel kind of alone in a big group. But not for long! One thing I noticed was how quickly patients get to know all the employee's who work there. Nurse/Practitioners, Nurses, Technicians, Office Staff, Dietitians, Counselors, and all the other employee's at this Davita Dialysis Center are so friendly and wonderful. Most of the other patients are also very friendly. In no time, I felt like I was part of a new extended family there. Of course, I have my favorites of people who I enjoy chatting to and socializing with while I'm being dialyzed. But everyone there really seems like they want to be there helping people, and that's a great feeling to have when you have to be there 3 times a week for 3-5 hours a day. Vita, a technician, is an absolute doll! She is very knowledgeable, caring, sweet, funny, and in my opinion one of the best employee's at this facility! As you can see from my opinion, this dialysis facility is excellent in my opinion. But, you might ask, why then did I only give it four stars, and not five? Well, because, just like most mufti-billion dollar companies, Davita tries to pinch pennies on employee's wages, hours, and supplies! Many of the technicians have to work long hours with barely enough turnaround time considering the hours they have to be there. Davita could make it so much better for their existing employee's if they would just hire three extra patient technicians to help with turnaround times. I have noticed how tired the technicians are getting by the middle of the week, and by Friday, I can't believe that they are still on their feet. This is a hard job, and these people are on their feet all day for sometimes 12 -14 hours a day. For very little more money, Davita could make it so much better for their existing employee's! And everybody knows that happy employee's make great employee's. Just in the last two weeks, 3 people who as far as I'm concerned were very beneficial to Davita, left for better employment. Davita will keep losing their excellent workers for inexperienced new people if they don't start to be more concerned with their good employee's! Once that happens, quality of care will decrease, and then Davita will start losing their patients in droves! I'll be one of the first ones to go! The amount of money that is charged for dialysis care is almost ridiculous. So, it's not that Davita can't afford to hire anymore people, they just refuse to. And who are the losers for this action? Their patients and their employee's. So, wise up Davita! You still have a somewhat great crew of employee's working there. But you better start taking better care of them or you will lose them too. Quit being so damn greedy and reward the people who work so hard to make this Davita Dialysis Center one of the best facilities I've ever been to! Yes, we as patients have to go to dialysis or we die. But there are a lot of places out there. Davita makes claims that they are the best of their kind. Well then, prove it Davita. Prove it to your employee's and your patients! It will be well worth your while to do so!
