Dialysis patients become ill, are hospitalized

TOWN AND COUNTRY, Mo. -- Officials are trying to determine what went wrong after seven patients receiving kidney dialysis treatment at a St. Louis County facility became seriously ill and had to be hospitalized.

It happened Monday at U.S. Renal Care in Town and Country. The source of the illness has not been determined.

Three patients were admitted to Missouri Baptist Medical Center in critical condition, though their conditions have since been upgraded to stable. Three others were in stable condition at Mercy Hospital. It wasn't clear where the seventh patient was sent.

U.S. Renal Care says in a statement that treatments stopped immediately when the patients reported feeling ill. The company expects to reopen the facility within a day or so, after coordinating with state and Medicare officials.