Prince Albert Dialysis Treatment Capacity Grows
Monday, March 01, 2010 at 13:12
The hemodialysis unit at the Victoria Hospital in Prince Albert has been expanded.
It means an additional 12 patients per week are now able to access dialysis treament closer to home.
The nursing unit manager for the ward, Shawn Phaneuf, notes Prince Albert treats patients from northern Saskatchewan who need their kidneys cleaned when renal failure sets in.
Phaneuf says the increase in capacity means less people will have to travel to Saskatoon for service.
Ryonald Rosenthal is a local resident who sits in the hospital four hours a day, three days a week, to get his kidneys cleaned.
He says being able to have dialysis in his hometown has allowed him to work more hours than in the past.
The health region says it is now able to do roughly 7,488 treatments a year — 1,872 more than previous years.