Silent Warriors continued
indicate other ailments. “Unfortunately,
there’s not a whole lot of symptoms that can
alert someone to the fact that there may be
something going wrong with their kidneys,”
says Dr. Narayanan.
Keeping the machine humming
Knowing how well your kidneys are
functioning, especially if you have diabetes
or high blood pressure, is very important.
Most often, kidney disease is discovered
through a blood test.
“With early testing and referrals, Scott
& White is really leading the way to early
diagnosis of kidney disease and detecting
potential dialysis patients,” says Peggy
Wright, RN, BSN, CPDN, dialysis nurse;
and associate director of Nephrology.
Dr. Narayanan believes that early testing
nationwide will lead to an even higher
increase in the number of kidney cases.
“Only now is the medical community
starting to realize that kidney disease is a
serious concern.”
Custom care for each patient
Kidney stones and nephritis are conditions
that can be reversed. But once kidney failure
starts it cannot be stopped; it can only be
slowed down.
According to Dr. Wesson, personalized
care for kidney patients at Scott & White
extends across a continuum that includes
nephrology and hemodialysis clinics
throughout the region, including Temple,
Round Rock, Killeen, College Station and
Waco. The kidney transplantation program
is housed at the Temple location, with
plans for expansion at Scott & White
32
THE CATALYST Winter 10 | sw.org
Left to right (front): Marianne Sherman, dietician; Peggy Wright, RN, BSN, CPDN; Christine
Weber, MSW. Left to right (back): Mohanram Narayanan, MD, FACP; Gregory M. Jaffers, MD;
Donald Wesson, MD, FACP; and Carlos Fasola, MD. Dr. Fasola joined the team in August 2009.
Healthcare - Round Rock. “Our approach
facilitates the best possible care for patients,
because it’s all being done by the same
group of physicians, the same group of
healthcare providers, under the same
administrative umbrella.”
When a patient enters Scott & White’s
Chronic Kidney Disease Clinic, a
multidisciplinary approach is taken. The
patient meets with a nephrologist, a social
worker and a dietician. “It’s important to
be educated about what foods they can and
cannot eat,” says Dr. Narayanan. “Most
kidney patients don’t realize that’s an
important part of their treatment.”
The nephrology team monitors the
patient closely, aiming to delay the need
for dialysis as long as possible. “That’s the
goal of a chronic kidney disease clinic—
ultimately you want to provide care that
helps slow down the progression of
disease,” he says. The same approach is
taken for patients with kidney disease due
to hypertension and diabetes.
Innovative dialysis options
for patients
Most patients start dialysis when their
kidney function drops below 10 percent,
Dr. Narayanan says. Dialysis, a mechanical
replacement for the kidneys’ bloodfiltering function, imposes many burdens