PITTSBURGH — Fresenius Kidney Care Western Pennsylvania in Bloomfield, a dialysis center, was one of more than 100,000 customers to lose power following this past week's wind storm.
After three long days, the dialysis clinic is thankful to once again have power.
It presented a real problem, forcing them to send five patients to the hospital.
Power went out Sunday night, presenting a massive problem for them and their patients when they arrived to the dialysis clinic on Monday morning.
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"Our water treatment didn't have power and that purifies the water because it's exposed to all of our dialysis patients," said Dawn Stankus, a nurse.
Nurses told Channel 11 that 15 people also missed treatment during the partial power outage.
"They have to sit inside in the cold because the machines can run on a little bit of electricity but they're freezing," said Eileen Sweeney, a social worker.
Workers are now advocating on behalf of their patients to get their business classification changed, because they’re listed as a clinic instead of a hospital, they were not prioritized when it came to restoring power.
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"We provide dialysis here which is life-sustaining treatment and we were trying to get on a priority list to be one of the first few to get our electricity back on," Stankus said.
"If this happens in the future our goal would be not just this dialysis clinic, but any dialysis clinic would be on the top priority list," said Maura McGinley, a physician's assistant.
When Channel 11 contacted Duquesne Light, a spokesperson said health care providers like dialysis clinics do not fall under priority facilities. But if they believe they should be, they encourage them to contact the company.
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