According to the Government of Alberta, cases of kidney disease have risen by 20 per cent over the past five years.
For a health concern that experts say has no treatment outside of a transplant, care can be challenging.
“(Aside from) a kidney transplant, dialysis is the only life-sustaining option for a lot of these folks, unfortunately,” said Scott Holland, executive director of the Alberta Kidney Care (South), a branch of Alberta Health Services.
However, a new $23.4 million investment from the province has helped create a new, upgraded hemodialysis lab in Lethbridge.
“It was very exciting when we opened our doors and could finally move in,” said Susan Jorgensen, unit manager at Alberta Kidney Care (South).
The Chinook Regional Hospital used to have 24 dialysis treatment stations, but the upgrades and new location within the hospital have create an expansion to 30 – a 25 per cent increase.
A big change was moving the unit downstairs, but large windows at ground level are keeping the place vibrant for patients.
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“It makes them feel mentally better and that turns into physically better. A lot of our patients have given us excellent feedback on how bright it is in here,” said Jorgensen.
This matters, because patients are often spending four-hour sessions during treatment.
However, some can now opt for eight-hour sessions while they sleep at night — something that has never been offered south of Calgary before.
“We do have the ability to go to a nocturnal option, allowing people to spend the night and dialyze overnight rather than coming in during the day,” said Holland.
This, he says, gives people a more normal work-life balance.
“They can carry on and work and live out their lives after dialysis. So, it’s a pretty amazing upgrade.”
The unit officially opened last week and the government says it’s money well spent.
“This is a significant investment in the south and south region so that patients don’t have to travel to other sites for the services that they need,” said Nathan Neudorf, Lethbridge-East MLA.
But the upgrade isn’t the only major health news coming out of southern Alberta in recent months.
The Taber Health Centre is seeing upgrades, Cardston will be getting a completely new replacement health centre and Lethbridge is also getting a new cardiac care centre sometime in the next number of years.
“It’s really great to see that continued investment, those increased services and making life more positive and more successful for many Albertans,” said Neudorf.
The hemodialysis unit will also work with patients who prefer home dialysis options.
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