The foundation is laid and the walls are up for a 12-unit dialysis center desperately needed in Chapala, which has 10% of all kidney disease cases in the state
Dialysis center under construction at Cruz Roja Chapala.
Patrick O’Heffernan Ajijic JAL. Construction is well underway for a Centro de Salud Renal at the Cruz Roja Chapala site near Christina Park in Chapala. The Center is part of the $7 million peso capital campaign launched June 9 at a concert LCS, but the need for kidney treatment in Chapala is so desperate that Cruz Roja has decided to start construction now and plans to complete the Center by August.
The Centro de Salud Renal is part of the larger campaign to build a new Cruz Roja facility in Chapala to replace its current aging structure. Cruz Roja Jalisco will match all funds raised until August and Cruz Roja Chapala is applying for a continuing match so the state organization will match all funds raised in Lakeside.
In an interview with Laguna this week, José García Rodríguez , Coordinador de estatal de Ingeniería Biomédica of the Jalisco, said that Cruz Roja Jalisco is working closely with Yolanda Martínez Llamas, President of Cruz Roja Chapala, and will match funds raised between now and August. To date, Cruz Roja Chapala has raised 720,000 pesos – including funds matched by the state organization – and is putting the money to work immediately on the new dialysis center.
“We will try everything…the community and the expats have been responding really, really well to my emails,” said Yolanda Martinez about the campaign to fund a new Cruz Roja emergency center, adding that donors can see their money at work now at the construction site adjacent to their existing facility.
The need for a local kidney dialysis center is so acute that Cruz Roja is working to meet an ambitious goal of opening by August, a challenge since state and local building codes for dialysis centers are very stringent. But during a tour of the construction site this week, Yolanda Martinez showed Laguna that the meticulous construction was ongoing and on schedule.
The urgent need for the facility comes from the high incidence of kidney disease in Lakeside that forces many families to travel to Guadalajara for expensive treatment. According to José García Chapala accounts for 10% of the kidney disease in Jalisco, far more than its population should produce.
In a memo to Cruz Roja staff he provided to Laguna, he pointed out that 71, 216 cases of kidney disease were reported in Mexico and required dialysis or hemodialysis. The memo pointed to IMSS data that showed that kidney disease cases were concentrated in Chapala where around 10% o of the state’s cases of kidney disease are registered, many at levels 3, 4 and 5 – severe enough to require dialysis,
José García noted in the memo that since not all patients have social security, Cruz Roja Jalisco was concerned that the Lakeside population does not have the means to provide treatment locally, so they joined together with Cruz Roja Chapala to fill this gap by building a dialysis center that initially will have 12 places available, providing up to 1,344 monthly sessions. The Center will offer the necessary ancillary services in nephrology, vascular treatment, nutrition and psychology.
Installing a kidney dialysis center will require Cruz Roja Chapala to meet stringent requirements, develop training programs, increase its staff with specialists, and integrate with its emergency health services.
All of this takes money and an adequate building, hence the $7 million peso fundraising drive. Cruz Roja’s existing building in Christina Park in Chapala is 60 years old and has many problems according to Cruz Roja President Yolanda Martínez Llamas. She told Laguna that it must be replaced to provide the expanded services needed in the area including dialysis.
Fortunately, as the fundraising campaign moves forward, both Mexican and Expats have responded quickly and generously, something Yolanda Martinez is very grateful for.
“I want to thank everyone for the wonderful support you gave us at the June 9 event at LCS. We ask you to keep touching your heart so we can continue to keep helping people. We need a better Red Cross”, she told Laguna.
Donations can made to Cruz Roja through the Foundation for Lake Chapala Charities at https://lakechapalacharities.org/health-human-services/. The Foundation for Lake Chapala Charities is a 501©(3) charity and donations to the foundation and designated to Cruz Roja are tax deductible for Americans. Cash donations can be made at the Cruz Roja headquarters in Chapala or at Yoly’s Unisex Salon in Ajijic, next to El Toritio market.
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