Sudbury Regional Hospital celebrated the expansion of its regional nephrology services and kicked-off Kidney Month Wednesday by announcing the addition of six dialysis stations at the Laurentian site.
?This important initiative will help address the growing need for the services our program provides by accommodating as many as 36 new patients,? said the hospital's senior vice president Joe Pilon in a news release.
?It also reinforces our regional role by enabling us to accept patients from northeastern Ontario who are required to return to Sudbury for follow up care, as well as dialysis patients from Sault Ste. Marie, Timmins and North Bay who must come to our hospital for other health needs.?
The program currently provides care to 590 patients in northeastern Ontario, including 150 patients who receive dialysis at the Laurentian site alone. Satellite dialysis units are located in Kapuskasing, Kirkland Lake, New Liskeard, Parry Sound, Little Current and Elliot Lake.
According to the Kidney Foundation website, www.kidney.ca, more than 30,000 Canadians suffer from kidney failure and require dialysis or a transplant to stay alive. Millions more have related conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure, which are the leading causes of kidney failure.
The $1.2 million expansion allows the regional nephrology program to fulfill its mandate as a regional service until the one-site hospital is complete, at which time plans call for an additional six dialysis stations.
For more information, visit www.hrsrh.on.ca and click on Programs/Services.
