Patients protest Brooklyn dialysis center closing
Plead for delay until new center opens in the fall
The Brooklyn Kidney Center (BKC), a dialysis center in Park Slope, has notified patients and staff that it is closing its doors next month, leaving its patients – many in wheelchairs or otherwise disabled – scrambling to find seats in other centers in Brooklyn or elsewhere.
Patients and supporters rallied on Thursday outside the clinic at 184 Sterling Place. Chanting “Save our center!” they urged BKC’s owner, Fresenius Medical Care, to delay the closing until a new facility on DeGraw Street is completed this fall. The new facility has experienced construction delays.
Fresenius spokesperson Jon Stone blames the building’s landlord for the closure.
“New York Dialysis Services has a strong record of providing patients with high quality, accessible dialysis care. Unfortunately, the landlord’s recent decision to sell the property will force the closure of Brooklyn Kidney Center, likely in mid-July. We were not asked to be involved in the transaction, and the sale of the building is not tied to the services we provide. We are disappointed to lose our current location, especially given the importance the center has to not only the patients it serves, but to the overall availability of dialysis within the community.”