It is with a heavy heart that Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) Board, staff, and volunteers learned of the passing of one of our Board Members, Terry Peeler. Terry was the first African American full-time Fire Chief and paramedic in Sumter County, Alabama, appointed in the year 2000. He proudly served as a firefighter and paramedic for the City of Livingston, Alabama. He was also elected Sumter County Coroner in 1999, a position he had been re-elected to.
In October of 2016, Terry was diagnosed with end stage kidney disease and had to start dialysis, which meant retiring from his career as a firefighter and paramedic due in part to the 75-mile round trip drive, he made three times a week for his dialysis treatments. Although it was the end of his kidney function, this was just the beginning of his advocacy efforts for dialysis patients, particularly when it came to patients being able to afford their care. Terry was an outspoken supporter of the Jack Reynold’s Memorial Medigap Expansion Act, which would provide individuals with access to supplemental insurance coverage to help them pay for the health care expenses not covered by Medicare. He wrote several letters to the editor encouraging his local legislators to sign on in support of the bill, and participated in multiple Congressional meetings on the subject.
Terry will be sorely missed on the DPC Board as well as by larger kidney community. We want to thank Terry for his tireless efforts in working to improve the lives of kidney patients and will honor his memory by continuing to fight to improve dialysis citizens’ quality of life by advocating for favorable public policy.
