Kidney failure is a growing crisis in the United States.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one in seven Americans are living with end-stage renal disease, with 80% being over 65 years old.
Dialysis is needed when the body’s own kidneys can no longer take care of its needs. As a result, wastes and toxins build up in the bloodstream.
Dialysis does the work of the kidneys, removing waste products and excess fluid from the blood. Hemodialysis is a type of dialysis that consists of a machine that filters and cleans the blood then returns it to a cleaned body. Skilled nursing and rehabilitation hospital patients who are receiving this treatment need it three times per week and it takes around four hours.
All of this highlights the need for patients who require dialysis to be able to access it in whatever facility they reside -- on site.
According to Catholic Health Services, when a patient can get their treatment on site, it eliminates outpatient drawbacks like infection risk and the need to travel to a remote clinic, which can be disruptive, confusing and time-consuming.
When patients are offered dialysis within a health care facility, there are numerous benefits while undergoing therapeutic rehabilitation. For example:
- It helps preserve the rehabilitation setting by eliminating the need for patients to go out for dialysis treatment. Typically, off-site dialysis treatment can take up to six to eight hours, which consumes most of the patient’s day, leaving them tired and not in the best disposition for therapy when they return.
- Patients can receive their treatments without leaving the rehabilitation center, preserving their therapeutic momentum.
- Access to nephrologists who work in the dialysis center and will care for patients as needed, providing a higher quality of care.
According to Catholic Health Services, onsite treatments also deliver better patient care with fewer hospital admissions.
“By providing dialysis treatments on site, we eliminate the need for frequent to and from dialysis clinics. It lets us focus on improving the lives of our residents” states Julia Shillingford, director of nursing for St. Anne’s Nursing Center, Catholic Health Services South Campus.
For more information on onsite dialysis treatments, contact Catholic Health Services or 877-CHS-4ALL.