Network 13

Network 13 is a powerful force. They serve Arkansas, Oklahoma and Louisiana as a patients rights group to make sure patients are treated fairly in the dialysis setting. If you have a problem that is unresolved you can call them and file a complaint. The very words "Network 13" changes a bad attitude at dialysis. I was going to call one time when the doctor walked out on me. But instead I accepted the apologies and tried to put it behind me. After all, I was mad at the doctor that day and Network 13 would have come down hard on the clinic. And this would have affected the nurses more than the doctor. And some of the nurses I really liked, so I didn't want to cause them problems.

So I never called the Network. I really did try to resolve things by following the chain of command. But, you can only follow the system and be let down by the system so many times. I did try to talk to the director of the unit but she never did anything. The only thing she ever did was call the doctor to keep me from calling Network 13. It was an endless cycle.

But more than my own complaints, it was the complaints of my fellow dialysis patients that outraged me. The fact that they were being treated worse than me really bothered me. The fact that they thought they were getting good care and in all actuality probably are not bothers me. You have heard the squeaky wheel gets all the attention. I am that wheel. And I want all patients to be that wheel. If you think you aren't getting the proper care, chances are you are not.

So I want everyone who has to be on dialysis in this area to be educated about Network 13. I have other reasons for sharing my story, but the main one is to hopefully help others.

Network 13
www.network13.org

Patients Toll Free # 1-800-472-8664

Go to this website and learn more about your dialysis clinic wherever you are. This is where I learned a lot of information. Most of which, scared me to death about the clinic I was attending.