Lethbridge’s Chinook Regional Hospital has expanded access to life-sustaining kidney care with a new hemodialysis unit and with an expanded Kidney Care Clinic.
This expansion, through a $23.4 million investment from the Government of Alberta, expands local dialysis capacity by more than 25 per cent, will strengthen kidney services and improve access to care for southern Alberta patients.
The clinic will provide education, training, and support for patients receiving home dialysis and supporting organ donation and transplantation.
Executive Director of Alberta Kidney Care (South) Scott Holland said the expanded clinic provides a modern, welcoming environment while offering more care options.
“Beyond the expanded capacity, we do have the ability to go to a nocturnal option, so that allows people to spend the night and dialyze overnight rather than coming in during the day for a four-hour treatment,” Holland noted. “They can come in overnight for those that are interested, and they can carry on and work and live out their lives after dialysis.”
According to Holland, there’s only one other site in southern Alberta in Calgary that offers that service. “This will be a good upgrade for this area.”
Unfortunately, Holland added, there’s no cure for kidney disease other than dialysis and a transplant.
“In the lack of a kidney transplant, dialysis is the only life-sustaining option for these folks. It’s usually delivered three days a week for four hours at a time. It’s very intensive, takes up a lot of your day, and especially if you need to travel from outside of Lethbridge, it can be your entire day,” Holland explained.
With the expansion, treatment stations will increase from 24 to 30 and the expanded unit will support up to 180 patients each week.
The dedicated Kidney Care Clinic expands treatment options and includes four clinical rooms and five treatment areas.
