Dialysis center gets federal OK

EASTPORT – The federal government has reversed itself and has given the Passamaquoddy Tribe the green light to lease the former Gates Fiber Extrusion office building on Route 190 to a Lexington, Mass., firm that wants to open the area’s only kidney dialysis center there.

In a letter sent to the tribe last week, the U.S. Economic Development Administration, part of the Department of Commerce, said it had reconsidered the tribe’s request to lease the facility to Fresenius Medical Care North America.

The government at first rejected the tribe’s request because, under the terms of the original agreement, the building could be used only for educational and training purposes.

But in reviewing the tribe’s request, the federal government said it had changed its mind.

“The tribe has provided assurances that the majority of the EDA project will be used for job training,” the agency’s regional director said in a letter. “EDA is relying on your determination that health care is a growth industry in your area, and that nurses, medical technicians, dietitians, social workers, and clerical staff will be trained in the EDA project to meet the local demand for skilled workers.”

Eastport City Manager George “Bud” Finch, who along with others, helped spearhead the project, said Monday he was pleased the federal government changed its mind.

Although the company was looking at alternatives, Finch said, it would have delayed the project by months.

Now, he believes the company can move forward with its plan to open a $455,000 eight-station facility by the end of April – “with the first patient being treated the first of May,” Finch said.

Once the center is operating, patients won’t have to make a trip to Bangor or Ellsworth several times a week to undergo dialysis. “This is a real victory for the patients,” he said.

Finch acknowledged that the idea for the center began as a grass-roots effort. “It is going to be very, very difficult during the grand opening not to exclude anyone,” he said.

The city manager also praised the company for not giving up on the city. He said that even though there had been setbacks, the company each time reaffirmed its commitment to locating a center in Eastport.

Fresenius is one of the largest providers of private dialysis clinics and a producer of dialysis products. It operates 1,000 clinics nationally.

The dialysis facility is expected to serve 20 patients during the first year.

In the past 10 years, according to the Fresenius Web site, the number of U.S. dialysis patients has increased from 100,000 to more than 250,000, with a growth rate of 7 percent a year.