“I agreed to begin dialysis last spring so that I could
spend more Holidays with family,” explained
Corriveau. “What I did not expect was that my
treatments would not only greatly improve my
quality of life and give me more precious time
with loved ones, but that the experience would
introduce me to a whole new family. The team at
County Dialysis is very kind, compassionate and
giving. They truly care about me and all of the
patients they treat. We are very much family –
and for this I am again truly blessed.”
with some of the larger needs, as well as once
again turning to the community for support.
“The community was so supportive with the
original start up, and many have continued to
support the Center and our patients in various ways
over the years, such as our annual Thanksgiving
Dinner Giveaway project,” explained Frank.
“We are hopeful that this support will continue
in response to this year’s TAMC annual appeal,
which features County Dialysis Center.”
In addition to equipment and renovations at the
Center, the hope is to create a patient support
fund, similar to the one recently established
“To have services, such as County Dialysis, at TAMC’s Aroostook Cancer Care, to assist
available to people in our area can literally mean patients with expenses associated with their travel
the difference between life and death. It does for and treatment.
me,” he said. “If this service were not here, my
remaining options would have been to travel to To help bolster efforts, the staff at TAMC’s gift
the Bangor area for treatment or not to receive shop has also committed to donate proceeds from
dialysis treatment at all. I would not have chosen all sales this year to support County Dialysis. The
Wish ‘n Well Gift Shop, located near the main
to travel downstate.”
entrance to A.R. Gould Memorial Hospital, is
open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. daily.
Investing in the Future
The County Dialysis Center was created two
decades ago with tremendous community
support. Donors from throughout central
Aroostook and beyond helped provide funding to
make it a reality. Now, updates are needed to both
facilities and equipment for both patient safety
and comfort. A new Reverse Osmosis (RO)
System for purifying water for treatment, new
hemodialysis machines and new treatment chairs
are all needed.
Corriveau credits the care he is receiving at
County Dialysis for saving his life.
TAMC is committed to making the necessary
investment to keep this service available to
Aroostook County residents and is diligently
finding financial sources to do so. While some
of the funds have been earmarked for the project
through TAMC’s capital funds, the healthcare
organization is also seeking grant funding to assist
18
WINTER 2015