NRGH Renal Care Unit Starts

RENAL CENTRE CONSTRUCTION STARTS

NANAIMO – Representatives from the Province, Vancouver Island Health (VIHA), the Nanaimo Regional Hospital District (NRHD) and the Nanaimo & District Hospital Foundation today celebrated the kick off of construction at the $9.4-million Nanaimo Regional General Hospital renal centre.

“The populations of the mid and north Island are growing by leaps and bounds,” said Parksville-Qualicum MLA Ron Cantelon, on behalf of Health Services Minister Kevin Falcon. “This new renal centre will make a huge difference in the lives of kidney patients and their families, who won’t have to travel to Victoria for care, saving them money, travel and undue stress.”

The full-service renal dialysis centre will be located in the shelled-in space on the first floor of NRGH’s new perinatal wing. The cost is being split 60/40 between the Province and the NRHD, with generous support from the foundation.

“The renal centre at the hospital will provide services to kidney patients who require access to hospital haemodialysis and will mean that these patients and their families will no longer have to travel to Victoria,” said Jac Kreut, VIHA board chair.

The 1,100-square-metre (12,000-square-foot) dialysis centre will serve advanced kidney disease patients who require either inpatient or outpatient care. It will be equipped with 18 dialysis stations and appropriate workspace for technicians, a reception and waiting area, and a home dialysis clinic, with natural light and other features that will allow for a functional treatment area in a pleasant and bright environment.

“This growing and aging population that we serve will continually benefit from the expansion of services here in Nanaimo, and we are always happy to partner in significant projects such as the new renal unit,” said Joe Stanhope, NRHD chair.

“We recognize the great need for dialysis clients to access in-hospital care north of the Malahat,” said Maeve O’Byrne, president of the foundation. “We are proud to support the new renal dialysis unit by committing to raise $540,000 toward the purchase of 12 haemodialysis machines, two central solution delivery systems, and two portable reverse osmosis units.”

The renal centre will be completed and ready for patients in September 2010. Along with the new 2,285-square-metre (24,600-square-foot) emergency department currently under construction – more than double the size of the old one, it is part of a $46.3-million investment into patient care at NRGH.

Over the next three years, British Columbia’s health-care system will benefit from investments such as new medical equipment and modernized health facilities as part of a $2.9-billion health-sector capital plan.