The 19th annual Organ Concert to benefit patients and families of the North Central Pennsylvania Dialysis Clinics is slated for Sunday, Nov. 9, at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 142 Market St., Williamsport.

Richard Lakey, organist, is a former dialysis patient who is now transplanted, and mezzo soprano Janice Mianulli will also be featured.

The money raised provides care bags, renal cookbooks, and nutritional supplements for the nearly 200 patients from Bradford, Clinton, Lycoming, Northumberland, Sullivan, Tioga, and Union Counties, according to NCPDC Director Lori Mahaffey.

Lakey said the concert proceeds help provide for the physical care that insurance does not cover as well as offer extras that lessen the economic and social impact of treatment.

“The (life-sustaining) treatment is rigorous for patients and their families,” said Lakey. “This is my way of giving back to the dialysis community, including the nurses and the doctors who cared for me.”

Clara Wertman of Muncy is just one of the many patients who benefit from the effort. Wertman has been on dialysis for five years to rid her body’s blood bodily waste products that her diseased kidneys cannot process.

In addition to her gratitude for the skills of Drs. Martha Finn, Daniel Gandy, and Sam Stea who tend to patients treated at the clinics in Montoursville and Lock Haven, Wertman expressed her appreciation for the nurses and technicians who work in the clinic administering prescribed treatments. “They make me feel very comfortable and are all very nice and kind.”

Admission for the 4 p.m. concert is $8 for individual or $15 for family with sponsorship tickets also available.