New Outpatient Dialysis Unit Opens- BWH Bulletin - For and about the People of Brigham and Women's Hospital
New Outpatient Dialysis Unit Opens- BWH Bulletin - For and about the People of Brigham and Women's Hospital
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May 25, 2001
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In This Issue:
Employees’ Contributions Presented to the Tobin School
Farewell, First Family
Coming Summer 2001: BWH Bulletin Exclusively On-line
BWH Calendar
Report Commissioned by State Legislature Says
Menino Applauds Project RISE
New Outpatient Dialysis Unit Opens
Heart to Heart
HVMA Progress Note
News in 60 Seconds
With the opening of a new outpatient dialysis unit on May 23, Faulkner Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital are writing a new chapter in shared services. “This outpatient unit combines the strength of both hospitals to provide something new to both,” said Ajay Singh, MD, clinical director of the Renal Division and director of dialysis at BWH, who serves as medical director of the unit, located at the Faulkner campus. For the first time, BWH has its own facility to provide dialysis on an outpatient basis. Formerly, staff physicians at BWH referred patients who needed dialysis to independent sites near Faulkner. And Faulkner, which had provided outpatient dialysis at a two-station unit located in its main hospital, has expanded capacity to serve more patients. Inpatient dialysis continues at both hospitals in their current facilities. In addition to serving patients whose physicians are on the BWH/ Faulkner staff, the new outpatient unit will attract other renal patients who find the Jamaica Plain location convenient. The dialysis unit is among several integrated services created since the two hospitals merged in 1998, including joint programs in surgery, orthopedic care, vein care, weight-loss management, asthma and psychiatry. The unit is located in the Belkin House, a building near Faulkner’s front entrance. It comprises 15 hemodialysis stations for the treatment of more than 100 patients who will come for dialysis three times per week, with each visit lasting up to four hours.
“These patients require an intense level of care,” said David H. Cahan, MD, chief of nephrology at Faulkner. “They are very dependant on their doctors, nurses, social workers, dietitians and other staff.” Among causes of kidney failure are congenital conditions, autoimmune diseases, blood vessel conditions, diabetes, infections and drug toxicities. Many patients with end-stage disease are awaiting kidney transplants. On the ground floor of the new unit is a clinic for patients whose blood is cleansed by peritoneal dialysis, in which a surgically implanted device is flushed and maintained by the patient on a daily basis. These patients routinely need monthly follow-up visits. The unit is operated and staffed by Dialysis Clinic Inc. (DCI), a prominent nonprofit organization based in Nashville, Tenn., which manages more than 165 dialysis units nationwide and has a large presence in academic centers. “Any surpluses generated by the unit are channeled directly back to the local hospitals to support research and clinical care,” said Singh. For example, DCI-supported research at BWH is currently under way to understand why postmenopausal women on dialysis are at high risk for cardiovascular events. Another study is examining factors that contribute to kidney transplant rejection. Serving as the unit’s nurse manager is Rita Iappica, RN, who oversees a staff that is expected to grow as patients are attracted to the new clinic. In the future, BWH hopes to open two or three more dialysis units in outlying areas of Boston to better serve patients near their home and workplace, easing the constant care that is key to the effective management of chronic renal disease.