Ed Malloy recently celebrated his 48th birthday, mainly, he believes, because of the kindness of his friend, Keith Roach.

Roach, a Middletown resident and township public works employee, donated a kidney to Malloy in September.

“He saved my life. That is basically what he did,” said Malloy, a Delaware County attorney.

Prior to the transplant at Lankenau Hospital, Malloy said he had 7 percent kidney function and was scheduled to begin dialysis while waiting for his turn to receive a donated kidney from a person who had died.

Dialysis is “a big deal,” the Upper Chichester resident said. “You are hooked up to a machine three to four days a week for four to five hours at a time. Your quality of life is really compromised.”

He avoided the dialysis when Roach stepped up to donate a kidney. To thank him, Malloy nominated Roach for an American Red Cross Heroes award.

Roach, 52, received the organization’s Give Life Award May 2 at the America Red Cross of Southeastern Pennsylvania’s Celebration Breakfast.

The Red Cross Hero said he really wasn’t apprehensive about making the lifesaving decision to help Malloy, who had served as a lifeguard with Roach’s wife, Elaine.

Roach recently recounted what went through his mind as he saw Malloy’s health declining prior to the transplant.

“I thought, ‘God has given me good health and taken care of me. Why am I waiting for someone else to step forward when I should step forward?’ “ Roach said. “I felt the Lord had put it upon my heart to donate a kidney to Ed.”

He admits the surgery was painful and “drained the life” out of him for a short time.

The kidney donor credits his supervisors in the Middletown public works department with supporting his desire to help his friend. He had saved up a lot of sick time over the last 16 years while working on numerous township projects, including Middletown’s recently completed veterans memorial off Veterans Highway.

“They allowed me to take the time off and advocated for me to do it,” Roach said.

And he’s thankful that he did.

“Now I feel fantastic. I feel great. I have no signs of the surgery at all,” Roach said recently. “I would do the same thing all over again if I could. I was fine. I had to rehabilitate and gain my strength back. But it’s OK. It was a small sacrifice.”

Malloy said he’s starting to get back to work part time. And, instead of being hooked up to a dialysis machine several times a week, he takes anti-rejection drugs so his immune system doesn’t attack the donated kidney.

“It’s a small price to pay,” Malloy said, adding that he is eternally grateful to Roach.

“There are really no words to express the gratitude I have for him,” Malloy said. “What he did for me was incredible.”

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DALLAS, May 07, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- American CareSource Holdings, Inc. /quotes/zigman/98659/quotes/nls/anci ANCI +14.58% today introduced its new DiaSource(TM) solution for containment of dialysis costs. The solution is from Ancillary Care Services (ACS), the leading national network of ancillary healthcare providers and a wholly owned subsidiary of American CareSource.

For self-insured employers, the cost to cover kidney disease treatment is significant. Through the DiaSource suite of services, employers can access the DiaSource high-performance network (HPN) -- a network of dialysis providers that have agreed to low, competitive rates. The patient's dialysis costs are covered at 100 percent, and the employer has low predictable costs throughout the course of treatment.

In addition to the network of service providers, employers receive member education resources, screening services and individual disease management programs designed to maximize the quality care provided while helping to contain its costs. These value-added services are provided at no additional cost to DiaSource clients.

ACS conceived the DiaSource solution by analyzing the needs of self-insured employers and recognizing the need to combat high dialysis costs. After a significant development period, the solution is already helping one patient in Texas, with annualized savings to the employer projected to exceed $250,000. ACS worked with The Plexus Groupe, an independent, privately owned national insurance brokerage firm, and its client, an employer group. One of the group's members is now receiving dialysis through a provider in the DiaSource high-performance network.

"DiaSource is a solution we had not seen before," said Laura Flynn, Vice President of New Business Development for The Plexus Groupe. "The savings are incredible. Our firm is considering introducing the DiaSource solution to all of our self-funded clients. Our relationship with ACS shows our clients that we are continuously looking for creative ways to help them control costs."

DiaSource's predictable rates reduce financial and legal risks, reduce administrative burdens and allow for predictable cost modeling for all payors. In addition, the dialysis providers available via the DiaSource network benefit from patient steerage to their facilities and predictable reimbursement.

Bill Simpson, President and Chief Operating Officer for ACS, commented, "The DiaSource suite of services has compelling value to self-insured employers to alleviate the financial burden of dialysis costs for their covered members. Likewise, the DiaSource solution appeals to reinsurance carriers and third-party administrators. And to our many participating dialysis providers, DiaSource makes sense from both financial and organizational perspectives."

Simpson continued, "We are pleased to partner with benefit brokers as another effective method by which to deliver our dialysis cost containment strategies into the market."

More information about healthcare cost containment is available at www.diasourcesolution.com .

About American CareSource Holdings, Inc.

American CareSource Holdings is the first national, publicly traded ancillary care network services company. The company offers a comprehensive national network of more than 4,800 ancillary service providers at more than 38,000 sites through its subsidiary, Ancillary Care Services. ACS provides ancillary health care services through its network that offers cost-effective alternatives to physician and hospital-based services. These providers offer services in 30 categories including laboratories, dialysis centers, free-standing diagnostic imaging centers, infusion centers, long-term acute care centers, home-health services and non-hospital surgery centers, as well as durable medical equipment. The company's ancillary network and management provide a complete outsourced solution for a wide variety of health care payors and plan sponsors including self-insured employers, indemnity insurers, PPOs, HMOs, third-party administrators and both federal and local governments. For additional information, please visit www.anci-care.com .

SOURCE: American CareSource Holdings, Inc.

        
        American CareSource Holdings, Inc. 
        Matthew D. Thompson, 972-308-6830 
        Chief Financial Officer 
        
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Copyright Business Wire 2012

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