Dialysis unit a no go at Strathmore Hospital
By Miriam Ostermann, Associate Editor
A recent meeting between Alberta Health Services (AHS) and community members from Strathmore and Siksika Nation proved less than fruitful and put a damper on plans for a dialysis unit in the Strathmore Hospital.
The hospital is currently undergoing renovations and upgrades. Members of the recently established Wheatland Dialysis Society hoped to include a dialysis unit in the renovations. However, on Jan. 4, the province’s health system told representatives there is a $3 million to $5 million price tag associated in opening a six-station dialysis unit, and along with an annual operating cost of $120,000 per patient, funds are currently not available to start a unit in Strathmore. Those in need of the service feel the costs and risks associated with the process aren’t favourable for everyone and they want a clear breakdown of the costs.
“The renal department of the AHS doesn’t seem at all interested in doing this; (he) was more interested in doing home dialysis, and in the letter it says with the current renovations going on at the hospital they may not be really interested to fight this battle at this time,” said Don Geiger, spokesperson of the Wheatland Dialysis Society. “They didn’t express any possibility of this happening. I’d like a breakdown of the costs to see what they’re talking about. At $20,000 to $30,000 per station in machine costs, this is quite excessive… you can build a whole clinic for $3 million to $5 million. It’s hard to buck the system when they don’t justify the prices and costs. It does make it kind of hard to fight them.”
According to AHS, there are three hemodialysis patients using a dialysis machine and a special filter; two home hemodialysis patients, and two peritoneal dialysis patients – cleansing fluids flow through a tube into part of the abdomen and filters waste products from the blood.
Siksika Nation also has seven hemodialysis patients and Gleichen has three.
At the moment, patients and family members are bearing the cost of travelling to dialysis facilities in Calgary and Drumheller – a situation that is affecting quality of life and posing a financial burden.
Because many patients require dialysis several times a week for an approximate four-hour duration – a treatment that takes over the kidney’s function when the organs fail – residents from Strathmore, Wheatland County and Siksika Nation formed the Wheatland Dialysis Society to come up with a solution.
For those travelling from as far as Siksika Nation, the travel time is often close to an hour-and-a-half to reach the closest centre in Calgary. Therefore, the society felt having a unit in Strathmore would prove ideal. Yet the distance of 88 kilometres (km) from Siksika Nation to Calgary falls flat on meeting the Alberta Kidney Care criteria to establish a dialysis unit that requires a distance of 100 km to the nearest dialysis unit and a minimum of six patients.
Although the Town of Strathmore isn’t involved, Mayor Pat Fule did meet with some of the residents and is gathering information.
“It’s still too early in the process to say what’s actually going to happen in terms of council’s involvement right now, but we’re definitely interested,” said Fule. “I know there are people who do have to go to Calgary regularly, and it’s a tough and expensive thing to do. I can understand how people who are affected by it would love it if we had something in town; it’s just the logistics of it, how it would be done, the cost and funding. Right now it’s going to be information gathering, but it’s something we’re definitely listening to the group to for sure.”
The meeting earlier this month involved roughly 13 people along with six AHS representatives. Those in attendance included members of the Wheatland Dialysis Society, Siksika Nation Council, Strathmore community members, Strathmore Health Centre and Siksika Health services representatives.
Without the green light from AHS to utilize space in the Strathmore Hospital, the society is looking at other options that include approaching local clinics