54

54-59 johor dialysis.indd 54 3/16/12 3:51 PM

DIALYSIS CENTRES

There are a total of 7 dialysis centres being run by Rotarians in the state of Johor and they are the Haemodialysis Centres of

• Johor Bahru • Batu Pahat • Pontian • Kluang • Kulai • Mersing

• Kota Tinggi

All these centres have been built with the kind donation of the public and are managed by caring Rotarians for the

good of our community.

INITIATED AND MANAGED BY ROTARIANS IN JOHORArticle Compiled and submitted byPDG John Cheah, PP Ng Yew Mun, PP Joseph Chua and the respective dialysis centresproof read by dominic davies

55

54-59 johor dialysis.indd 55 3/16/12 3:51 PM

DIALYSIS CENTRESHISTORY OF JOHOR HAEMODIALYSIS PROJECTAt a Rotary installation dinner held in June 1989, members of the Rotary Club of Johor Bahru were reminded by His Majesty, the Sultan of Johor, DYMM Sultan Iskandar, not to be easily satisfied with small community service projects. He added that they should be bolder and more ambitious and should think of carrying out bigger and longer-term projects.

The then President of the Rotary Club of Johor Bahru, Tony Ong and his Board members found that setting up a charity dialysis centre would meet the Tuanku’s criteria. A survey carried out within the local community confirmed the need for such a centre, especially among the poor, many of whom could ill afford the high cost of dialysis.

A working paper was prepared and the budget indicated that it would cost around RM500,000 to initiate the project . Through the good offices of PP Lim Kay Hua, who was able to persuade Dr Lee Seng Ghee, Chairman of the Lee Foundation to donate RM350,000, the project was kick-started.

The centre at Plaza Century started off with 10 dialysis machines catering to 40 or so patients and expanded quickly. The Haemodialysis Centre at Plaza Century was officially opened on 3 Jan 1992 by the then Minister of Health, Datuk Seri Lee Kim Sai.

As the years went by, the Centre found that there was a need to expand to cope with the ever increasing number of patients. In 2001, almost 10 years after the inception of the project, a 4–storey shophouse located at 4N Jalan Tun Abdul Razak, Susur 3, was purchased to permanently house the Haemodialysis Centre. Part of the building was

also used to house the offices of another of RJCB’s long-term projects, the Palliative Care unit of RCJB.

And in 25 Jan 2003, it officially opened its doors to the cheers of the patients and staff. The new Centre was equipped with the latest advancements in medical equipment and dialysis care in Johor. It is now run by a full-time administrator who is ably assisted by a good complement of staff nurses,

technicians and nursing aids.

Whatever the case may be, the members of RCJB ought to be proud of the fact that they have

been able to fulfill the dreams and aspirations of the late Sultan Iskandar of Johor when he reminded them to “think big and think long-term” when carrying out community service projects.

Not only that, it also managed to inspire 6 other Rotary clubs in Johor to start and operate their own charity dialysis centres, thus bringing the state of Johor the distinction of having the largest number of Rotary Dialysis Centres in one Rotary District – a feat unmatched anywhere in the world.

56

54-59 johor dialysis.indd 56 3/16/12 3:51 PM

The Haemodialysis Centre of Johor Bahru was established in November 1991 at Wisma Abad Century Garden with only 11 dialysis machines to serve 55 patients in 3 shifts. It shifted its operation to a 4 storey building at No.4N, Jalan Susur 3, Jalan Tun Abdul Razak on 25th January 2003 with 18 machines, 8 nursing staff and 3 admin clerks serving 65 patients. Licence to operate was obtained from the Ministry of Health on 1st October 2010.

HAEMODIALYSIS CENTRE

OF JOHOR BAHRU

Managed by Rotary Club of Johor Bahru

57

54-59 johor dialysis.indd 57 3/16/12 3:51 PM

7 DIALYSIS CENTRES IN JOHOR

The Batu Pahat Haemodialysis Centre was started in 1993 and presently operates at 15, Jalan Balang, 1, Taman Kooperasi Bahagia, Batu Pahat. It has 15 dialysis machines with 3 staff nurses and 6 assistant nurses working in 2 shifts serving 54 patients. They got the Licence to operate from the Ministry of Health on 22nd May 2009.

Managed by Rotary Club of Batu Pahat Managed by Rotary Club of Kulai Managed by Rotary Club of Pontian

Through the good offices of PDG John Cheah, The R.C of Kulai managed to get 2 pieces of land measuring 21,700ft2 and approximately RM300,000 donated by Dato Yap Sing Hock to build a 11,035ft2 building in 1997 which now has 26 dialysis machines and serves 109 patients on a 3 shift basis with the assistance of 1 admin clerk, 9 trained staff nurses and 7 assistants. They obtained their licence to operate from the Ministry of Health on 25th March 2011.

The Haemodialysis centre in Pontian started its operation on 2nd July 1997. They have 18 dialysis machines serving 71 patients on a 3 shift basis with the help of 7 staff nurses and 10 nursing assistants. This Dialysis centre also owns a Physiotherapy centre, with a staff nurse and a Nursing Assistant providing treatment to 25 patients.

BATU PAHAT KULAI PONTIAN

58

54-59 johor dialysis.indd 58 3/16/12 3:51 PM

The Dialysis Centre at Mersing started on 1st March 2000 with 12 dialysis machines with 1 admin clerk, 2 staff nurses and 4 nursing assistants that serve 29 patients. They obtained the Licence from the Ministry of Health to operate on 19th August 2010. They are presently looking for a piece of land to expand their services to help the community.

Managed by Rotary Club of Mersing Managed by Rotary Club of Kluang Managed by Rotary Club of Kota Tinggi

The Kluang Haemodialysis Centre shifted its operation on 20th July 1998 to 2 shop lots at 3 & 4 Jalan 1/13 Taman Sri Kluang and presently they have 15 dialysis machines that serve 55 patients on a 2 shift basis with 6 staff nurses, 2 dialysis assistants and 3 nursing aids.

The dialysis centre in Kota Tinggi at 16, Jalan Kemajuan, Kawasan Perindustrian Kota Tinggi, was established in August 2000 and has a total of 9 dialysis machines serving 22 patients on a 2 shift basis with the assistance of 1 admin clerk, 2 staff nurses and 2 assistants. The building was donated by Mr Gwi Chin Fatt with the help of PDG John Cheah and PDG Dato Jimmy Lim.

MERSING KLUANG KOTA TINGGI

59

54-59 johor dialysis.indd 59 3/16/12 3:51 PM