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| The Rotary spouses learning about the services offered by the Rotary Club of Johor Baru Haemodialysis Centre |
Fifty-eight Presidents-Elect from Rotary Clubs in Johor, Malacca, Sabah,
Sarawak, Brunei Darulsalam, Labuan FT and Singapore, attended the 25th
Rotary District Assembly of Rotary International District 3310 held in Johor
Baru recently. Organised by the Rotary
Club of Johor Baru, this annual event aims to train the Rotarians for their
roles in their respective clubs. This
included the Governor’s Banquet where Philip
Chong Mau Kiong from Rotary Club of Kuching Central, was installed
as the In-coming District Governor commencing July 2015, for year 2015 – 2016.
While the Rotarians
were occupied with training for their roles, their spouses had a separate
Spouses Programme with their own time of training and doing their bit for
charity in Johor. Besides learning more
about Rotary International and their role and responsibilities as a Rotary
Spouse, they gained invaluable knowledge and insights from the experience of
other Rotary spouses. Through fellowship
and interaction, the spouses discussed ideas for fund-raising, sharing goodwill
with the less fortunate and contributing to the needy in their own communities.
The main item
in the Spouses Programme was a community service visit with the patients at the Rotary Club of Johor Baru
Haemodialysis Centre in JB. This is the first NGO-operated Haemodialysis
Centre in the region, initially set up in Wisma Abad, Century Gardens as a
community service project in 1991 before they moved to the present premises in
2003. In March 2004, then Sultan of
Johor, Sultan Iskandar, officially declared the Rotary Haemodialysis &
Hospice Center open and it continues to operate as a centre licensed by the Ministry
of Health.
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| The visitors in front of the Rotary Club of Johor Baru Haemodialysis Centre in JB |
“The success of this worthy project has
inspired many other charity organizations to set up similar centres to benefit
the community in Johor,” said Rotary Club of JB Vice-President, Lee Soo
Tong. Now seven other Rotary clubs in
Johor operate haemodialysis centres while more than 20 such centres have been
established by other charitable organisations in Johor.
Kidney or renal failure is a medical
condition where the kidneys fail to adequately filter toxins and waste products
from the blood while haemodialysis is a method for removing waste products and
filtering toxins from the blood, using a special filter called a dialyser that
functions as an artificial kidney. This
centre is installed with a Reverse Osmosis machine and 3,000-litre tank
upstairs with a 1,200-litre tank downstairs because an extensive water
purification system is absolutely critical for haemodialysis. It has 18 haemodialysis machines operating on
two floors and a separate treatment facility for Hepatitis B Virus patients,
downstairs.
The Rotary spouses learnt that the
centre operated two shifts for up to 65 patients per day on six days per week
for patients to receive treatments three times a week. To meet its objective in providing affordable
treatments to patients who are mainly from the lower income group, the centre
has maintained its subsidized charge at RM110 per treatment. Serious health problems can occur in patients
who have less than 25 per cent of kidney function if they do not have proper
treatment. However, many patients
struggle to pay for their treatments and some even tried to save money by going
for only two treatments instead of the prescribed three.
The centre is managed by a voluntary
committee of Rotarians and the daily operations are managed by an administrator
who is assisted by a competent team of staff nurses, technicians and nursing
aids. The centre sponsors visiting
nephrologists from Kuala Lumpur and the training of staff nurses with the
National Kidney Foundation. With
escalating overhead costs, the center’s operational expenses is over RM30,000
per month.
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| Rotary Club of Johor Baru Vice-President, Lee Soo Tong [4th from Right] accepting the donation presented by the Rotary spouses from the Rotary Club of JB Foundation |
The admin staff in the centre also
helps to put registered outpatients in touch with charity or welfare organizations
for sponsorship. While patients enjoy a
RM50 subsidy from the Ministry of Health, the center bears the costs of the
patients’ routine blood tests, nephrologists’ visits and annual
Electrocardiograph (ECG) procedure. Some
patients may also need special medications of up to eight doses per month to increase
their haemoglobin level.
Lee said as the Rotary spouses take
care of their families and the Rotary family, they have a part to play in
helping to create awareness and to adopt a healthier lifestyle as preventive
measures against kidney failure. While
the centre is supported by many charitable organizations and generous
individuals, there is still a big shortfall which the Rotary Club of JB helps
to finance through fund-raising activities.
As Lee accepted the donation of RM5,000 from the Rotary Club of JB
Foundation, he thanked the Rotary spouses for their gift and visit to the
centre.
Malaysians and Permanent Residents may
register for treatment with the center, located at No. 4-N, Jalan Tun Abdul
Razak, Susur 3, 80200 Johor Baru. Tel:
607 – 222 2433/222 2403, Fax: 607 – 222 2443.
A version of this was published in The Malaysian Insider on 21 April 2015
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