Bowling Green woman petitions for dialysis center to stay open

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - Joyce Broyles has been getting dialysis for a year and a half now, three days a week, four hours a day.

“I still do the same things that I always do,” Broyles said. “It’s just that now, I have to do it from a chair. I can’t get up and just walk and do whatever I want to do.”

Now, Broyles is having to face the difficult decision of changing her dialysis center after being told her normal center, DaVita Lost River Dialysis, would be shutting down.

“There was no warning, there was nothing. They came in, gave us the letter, and said we got good news, bad news. That was it,” she said.

The letter gave no explanation of why the center was closing, only a list of possible replacement centers. None of which accepted the doctor Broyles has been using for over four years.

“The doctor has followed you down through the years or however how long you have had dialysis. They have followed you, they have kept up with your health care. They do your blood work, they do everything,” Broyles said. “In order for us to change doctors, that doctor doesn’t know anything about us.”

So now Broyles has started a petition to keep the center open, with almost 300 signatures already.

“They’ve been trying to make the transition, I guess, as smooth as possible. But it’s not working for the patients. They should have consulted the patients first, but they didn’t.”

Broyles hopes that the center stays open and continues to help her live her life to the fullest.

“If I don’t get dialysis, I could die, and I’m not ready to die. I have too much to live for,” Broyles said. “I got my children, my grandchildren, my family, and I want to stick around long enough to see all of them grow up.”

WBKO reached out to Lost River Dialysis for a comment on the closing. Their statement reads:

“We recently made the incredibly difficult decision to close our center. This is not a decision we took lightly, but it is necessary to help make sure we can give the best care to patients across the area in the long term.

Our top priority is the health and well-being of our patients and teammates. We have been working with each patient individually to find the best treatment options for their continued care. For some, that could mean treating in the comfort of their own home—reducing the need to travel to a dialysis center.

We have made every effort to ensure our patients will continue receiving treatment from the physician of their choice, at a time and place that minimizes disruption to their routines.”

Broyles’ petition can be signed at the dialysis center, located at 737 Dishman lane.

DaVita bought the center in 2018, where it served approximately 30 patients.

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