Tift Regional receives massive funding for dialysis support from efforts of Ossoff

Davis Cobb, The Tifton Gazette, Ga.
·2 min read

May 15—TIFTON — Tift Regional Health System will receive a wave of upgrades for its dialysis services, courtesy of the office of Sen. Jon Ossoff.

The U.S. senator recently secured around $600,000 of federal funding with bipartisan support, providing the South Georgia health system with the means of upgrading and expanding the number of machines used to treat their dialysis patients.

Claire Byrnes, senior vice president of ambulatory services at Tift Regional, stated that the health system had been planning such an overhaul for some time, but received the opportunity to secure funding for the project during a visit to the capital by Tift Regional CEO Chris Dorman.

"He learned of some of the federal funding that was coming down relative to meeting the needs of rural healthcare, and asked our team if there was something specific we'd want to apply for within the parameters of what this funding can be used for," Byrnes said. "We immediately thought of our dialysis project and some of the capital expense that would come with that."

Currently, Tift Regional serves nearly 200 patients for dialysis treatment, who must engage in four-hour treatments three days a week, as well as patients being treated for peritoneal dialysis through at-home treatments.

Byrnes reported that the health system's current equipment was stretched thin accommodating all of these patients, even more so by many of their existing dialysis machines being at the end of their life cycle, but that this federal funding will help them tend to their patients' needs better than ever.

Through the funding, Tift Regional plans to double its number of dialysis machines to nearly 50, as well as to replacing many of their worn out or old pieces of equipment, greatly expanding the service they can offer their patients.

"In the face of Southwell's commitment and caring for all of our patients, that's not always a lucrative financial endeavor," Byrnes said. "It's definitely a help for us from the government and Ossoff's office to make sure we can continue to provide the excellent care we do to all of our patients. Regardless of their condition or ability to pay, we are here for them."