St. Joseph Mercy Hospital on Monday March 14, 2016 officially launched its kidney Dialysis Unit at a simple ceremony held at the hospital’s Parade Street, Kingston location.
Speaking at the commissioning, Chief Executive Officer (ag), Helen Browman said work to establish the unit has been going on for over a year and the hospital is pleased to now make it a reality. She underscored the importance of such a facility, noting that kidney disease is a major problem in Guyana.
“Kidney disease is a big problem in Guyana and what we find happening is that a lot of persons, especially those suffering from chronic diseases, realise too late what is happening to them; 80 percent of their kidneys is not working and by then it is time for dialysis. We are aware of a lot of persons who need dialysis,” the CEO said.
Ms. Browman pointed out that the establishment of the unit was made possible with the support of Doobay Centre, which donated the dialysis machines. She also extended gratitude to the hospital’s staff and partners such as the Ministry of Public Health, for supporting the initiative.
Vice Chairman of the hospital’s Board, Chris Fernandes disclosed that two additional dialysis machines will soon be added to the unit, thereby boosting its capacity. “We are expecting another two machines in a couple of months…by the end of April those machines should arrive which would make the unit twice as productive as it is today,” he said.
Ministry of Public Health representative, Caroline Hicks said the opening of the unit at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital provides the public with more options regarding where they obtain treatment. “From what I am seeing here, patients would be comfortable. The Ministry of Public Health is happy for this initiative. We want to know that our dialysis patients are being well taken care of…people should know and seek better care on this aspect of their illness,” she stated.
Twenty-one year old Carl Wilson, the first patient to use the unit, has been on dialysis for close to five years. He said the opening of this new facility is welcomed since it now provides him with more treatment options. “I welcome this move. It would give me more options for treatment since I have to be on dialysis three times per week,” he said.
Dialysis is a process for removing waste and excess water from the blood and is used primarily as an artificial replacement for lost kidney function in people with kidney failure. Dialysis may be used for those with an acute disturbance in kidney function or progressive but chronically worsening kidney function.
Mercy Hospital
Thanks for every other magnificent article. Where else could anyone
get that kind of info in such a perfect way of writing? I’ve a presentation next week, and I’m at the look for such info.