Kidney disease gets the heavy-hitter treatment

A direct line between fundraisers and patient benefit doesn’t always exist — but that’s not the case here. Jan Pahl, manager of the Willie Stargell Dialysis Center at New Hanover Regional Medical Center, can name several ways, both large and small, that the Willie Stargell Foundation has helped people with kidney disease.

It can be seen in the cutting-edge equipment, she said, and in those touches that make the lengthy treatments more bearable.

“The foundation has helped make warm blankets possible,” Pahl said. “Patients often get cold due to their health conditions and when we can offer them that, it’s like a hug. … Really, the whole center is very comfortable, very bright and very welcoming.”

Even if you are unfamiliar with kidney disease or its complications, you may have heard of one of the Foundation’s high-profile events — the Willie Stargell Celebrity Invitational golf tournament. The 16th annual tournament takes place this weekend in Wilmington with celebrity guests that include professional athletes, coaches, Olympians and actors.

“We have 50 celebrities coming in from all over the country,” said Margaret Weller-Stargell, founder and president. “It’s a three-day event where we can have fun while we raise money.”

She started the foundation in honor of her husband, Willie Stargell, who passed away in 2001 due to kidney disease. Many knew the Wilmingtonian as a baseball player who hit 475 home runs during his 21 seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988 during his first year of eligibility.

Funds raised from the annual event support kidney disease research and patient care. The Dialysis Center at NHRMC, which was renamed in Stargell’s honor in 2006, is one beneficiary, but there are many others — from nursing programs at local colleges to work done by the transplant outreach programs at centers such as Duke University and the Carolinas Medical Center.

“One of our recent focuses has been on the purchase of Fresenius kidney machines, which are state of the art, best in the world, and make the treatments so much easier,” Weller-Stargell said.

Dialysis can be a lengthy, time-consuming process. Stargell spent the last five years of his life receiving the treatments. During that time, it was his wish that dialysis be readily available for those who need it and that it be done in a comfortable setting. Weller-Stargell went about making that happen. Grants totaling more than $165,000 were given out after last year’s event. The foundation hopes to raise $600,000 this year.

“My husband would be so proud and so thankful for the ways in which we are able to help improve the lives of those with kidney disease,” she said.

Back at the center, which offers hemodialysis to critically ill patients, you can see some of that money in action. It’s in the state-of-the-art water treatment that is critical to the dialysis procedure, in the ease of data integration that saves the staff time, as well as the staff education and training. (Not to mention patient televisions and special protein bars to improve their nutrition.)

“You can really see the ways these things help patients,” Pahl said. Last year, the center offered 4,000 of the treatments. During Hurricane Florence, they saw an uptick — and on one day treated 25 patients.

“Our team is highly motivated and we feel strongly about what we do,” she said.

In addition to the advancements made possible by the foundation, the Invitational also includes a tour of the center — and a chance for the patients to meet the celebrities.

“It’s such a wonderful thing for them” Pahl said. “They get so excited.”

Weller-Stargell says she is not sure who enjoys, or benefits from, those visits more — but she thinks it might be the out-of-town guests.

“It’s incredible to observe the interaction with patients and see what it means to them to hear their stories,” she said.