Connie Kennedy of DCI Holston River was on hand to describe the peritoneal dialysis at the facility’s recent open house. Photo by Dan Andrews.

Dialysis Clinic, Inc., (DCI) invited the community to learn more about kidney disease at an open house held at the Holston River facility on Thursday, November 15.
The open house provided an inside look at the DCI dialysis unit, a look at a mock dialysis treatment, a tour of the dialysis facility, samples of renal (kidney) friendly foods, and visits with dialysis professionals.
Connie Kennedy was on hand to demonstrate the peritoneal portable dialysis machine that makes it very easy for patients to do daily dialysis at home. “ Patients that do dialysis at home tend to have less complications and live longer,” Kennedy said, “because they have more control over their life and have more input into their treatment.
DCI Holston River offered the open house as a part of the program called CKD Education Alliance. This program provides awareness of chronic kidney disease and prevention strategies, treatment options for kidney failure, and career opportunities in the renal (kidney) field to local high schools, colleges, and community centers.
Missy Adams, Social Worker, along with Angie Miracle, RN, Brandy Meres, Patient Care Technician (PCT), and Rebecca Spurgeon, Registered Dietitian, led the education session for approximately 35 second-year nursing students at Pellissippi State Community College on October 31.
“Being in the nursing program, the students may have already learned about the technical side of kidney disease, however, I feel that we educated them about the reality of kidney failure,” states Missy Adams.
Cindy Geter, DCI Nurse Manager, says, “Diabetes and kidney disease are prevalent in this area. We want to be more involved in the community and help them to understand the impact of kidney disease. That’s why we are hosting this open house and teaching at the local college.”
“DCI created the CKD Education Alliance because we want to educate the community about risk factors for chronic kidney disease. Our objective is to share with them ways to maintain their kidney health. However, if they should find that their kidneys are failing, we want them to know that the dialysis industry provides a variety of lifesaving options,” states Jessica Emler, DCI Public Information Coordinator.
DCI Holston River is located at 5811 East Governor John Sevier Highway, Knoxville.
Founded in 1971, Dialysis Clinic, Inc. (DCI) is the nation’s largest non-profit dialysis provider with over 200 outpatient dialysis clinics in 27 states. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, DCI employs more than 5,000 people serving over 13,500 dialysis patients. DCI’s services include in-center hemodialysis, in-center self-care hemodialysis, home hemodialysis, Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD), and Continuous Cycling Peritoneal Dialysis (CCPD). DCI also provides dialysis in hospitals around the US. For the past 10 years,
More information is located at: www.dciinc.org.