Reliant Renal Care company transforming former
Whirly Ball building in Flint Township
by Teri Banas | The Flint Journal
Friday August 21, 2009
FLINT TWP. -- Bob Bednar, a health care provider, was joking Wednesday when he said one of his "small goals" is to make sure that locals here eventually stop calling the building he's rehabbing by its quirky former name -- the Whirly Ball Fun Center.
"I was staying at the Holiday Inn in Flint this week and Nicole at the front desk said, 'Oh, Mr. Bednar, the Whirly Ball building looks so much nicer.'"
If Bednar, project manager for the growing Reliant Renal Care company, which is partnering with McLaren Regional Medical Center here, has his way, that could happen soon.
Located at the southwest corner of Graham and Corunna roads, the newest installation in the growing Media, Pa., company has undergone a $1.4 million rehab (with another $700,000 in new equipment) that transforms the former 12,000-square-foot fun center into a state-of-the-arts outpatient dialysis center.
Inside, personal comfort and top-of-the-line medical equipment rule. There are heat-and-massage outfitted dialysis chairs and individual TV-screens for movie watching, and homey touches -- a fireplace in the lobby and decorative wall murals evoking popular themes, including music and window frame images. A Northville building contractor, Urban's Partitions, which built 60 other dialysis centers nationwide, was picked for its knack and experience in providing patients with a comfortable environment.
It hasn't gone unnoticed.
"It's nice to have something in there again," said Township Economic Enhancement Director Tracey Tucker. "They've done a good job of rehabbing that building."
Nearing completion, the center should see its first patients next month, Bednar says. Eventually, it will serve 24 patients at a time.
With one state inspection completed and a certificate of occupancy in hand, Bednar is awaiting a second inspection that will clear it to serve Medicare and Medicaid patients.
Bednar said the center will operate six days a week with a staff of 10-15 people, including nurses, technicians, a social worker, dietitian and receptionist.
Staff will also educate patients on how to manage self-dialysis at home. The center's medical director is Dr. Nabil Zaki, a Flint-area practitioner.
This will be Reliant's fifth facility in the Flint area.
Across the country, Reliant is considered a small player, going head-to-head with industry giants such as Fresenius Medical Care and DaVita.
In recent years there's been a sharp decline in hospital-based dialysis treatment in large part because patients are taking advantage of close-to-home options, said Dr. Jonathan Segal, director of outpatient dialysis services at the University of Michigan Health System. For dialysis patients, treatment involves three, three-hour visits a week.
"The more there are of these free-standing clinics out there, the more convenient it is for patients," he said.
Reliant entered the Flint market two years ago when it purchased a McLaren dialysis center in Lapeer, as well as existing ones on Beecher Road in Flint, Mt. Morris and Davison. Outside of the Flint area, another Reliant center is in Marlette in Michigan's Thumb area, and five are found in Colorado, Texas and Alabama.
Reliant signed a 10-year lease with MDI Property Management in Flint to operate in the Corunna Road building. Bednar says he envisions Reliant adding another new facility in the Flint area.
The Flint Township site will also house the company's regional director and technology services director.
"We are growing so much in Michigan," Bednar said.
