Cleaning Solution, Human Error Cause of Dialysis Scare at U.S. Renal Care

"We can confirm that a cleaning solution, commonly used in dialysis, was inadvertently added into our water supply due to a one-time human error," U.S. Renal Care officials stated in a news release Wednesday afternoon.

(Sign up here for the FREE Patch Newsletter, including Breaking News Alerts.)

As previously reported by Patch, U.S. Renal Care confirms the incident happened Monday at their 13190 South Outer 40 Road location in Town and Country.

Eight patients were hospitalized after receiving the wrong solution during dialysis, according to Tom Weinberg with U.S. Renal Care. 

A spokesperson for U.S. Renal care tells Patch, eight patients were dialyzing at the time. Seven went to the hospital right away. The eighth originally did not want to go, but later went to the hospital and was immediately released.

Although three patients were initally reported to be in critical condition Monday, all seven have now been upgraded to stable condition.

Weinberg issued the following update in Wednesday's news release.

We can confirm that a cleaning solution, commonly used in dialysis, was inadvertently added into our water supply due to a one-time human error. As soon as we became aware that something was not right, we immediately stopped dialyzing all 8 patients and out of an abundance of caution, advised them to go to the hospital for observation. Most importantly, we have been talking with patients and their families and thankfully all patients are stable. We are also communicating with the state health department to confirm the water system is absolutely safe before we reopen our facility in the next few days. In the meantime, we are making sure every patient has a place to dialyze and our thoughts remain with them. Our top priority is the health and safety of our patients and we have taken added precautions to ensure this does not happen again.

Weinberg previously stated that the center became aware of the matter when the patients complained of discomfort during the dialysis Monday.

U.S. Renal Care called in the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and shut down voluntarily, according to a spokesperson for the company.

According to a U.S. Renal Care news release, the company acquired the Town and Country dialysis center in August. It cares for patients suffering from chronic kidney failure known as end stage renal disease. The facility was formerly known as Premiere Dialysis.

According to U.S. Renal Care, the company serves 6,400 end stage renal disease patients and operates in 13 states.