Province expanding renal dialysis program at CRH

By Lethbridge Herald on April 19, 2023.

Executive director of Alberta Kidney Care South, AHS, Jennifer Crysdale speaks about the expansion of the dialysis program and what that means for their patients Tuesday at Chinook Regional Hospital. Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman

Alejandra Pulido-Guzman – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – apulido@lethbridgeherald.com

Minister of Infrastructure and MLA for East Lethbridge, Nathan Neudorf announced an investment into the enhancement and expansion of the renal dialysis program at the Chinook Regional Hospital. 

During this week’s announcement of the expansion of the surgical capacity at CRH, Neudorf made a second announcement regarding another department of the hospital. 

“In addition to the ASI (Alberta Surgical Initiative Capital Program)project, I am thrilled to have more exciting news for Lethbridge. The Alberta government is investing $11.2 million over the next three years to enhance and expand the renal dialysis program at the Chinook Regional Hospital and I’m happy to say the design in this project will begin this fall,” said Neudorf. 

He said when complete the renovation will provide 28 dialysis treatment stations and two airborne isolation rooms for a total of 20 treatment rooms, as well as five home dialysis training rooms, a biotechnical room that will support nighttime dialysis and additional space for family consultations, training staff and supplies. 

“The design process will begin in the fall and construction is anticipated to begin in early 2025,” said Neudorf. 

Executive director of Alberta Kidney Care South for Alberta Health Services, Jennifer Crysdale said at Chinook Regional Hospital they serve close to 300 patients per year, with 50 per cent who live within the Lethbridge area and the rest within the surrounding, larger areas around Lethbridge in the South zone. 

“Each year we perform around 18,000 different hemodialysis runs within Chinook Regional Hospital and for about between 120 and 130 new patients. This patient population requiring different levels of kidney care continues to grow,” said Crysdale. 

She said patient numbers have increased by 20 per cent in the South zone compared to five years ago. 

“It’s great to see additional funding going towards expanding, modernizing and enhancing the kidney care program at this Chinook Regional Hospital and within the South zone in this area,” said Crysdale.

She said their primary focus here in Lethbridge is to continue to support patients requiring expert and advanced kidney care close to home and within this region. 

“This new state of art facility will meet current capacity challenges, as well as anticipated growth that’s going to be happening over the years to come. It will also allow us to have increased training space to support the expansion of our home dialysis program across the South zone, allowing our patients to be trained and their support family to be trained in order to have dialysis within their home,” said Crysdale. 

She said the increased space will also allow them to have a very high-quality multidisciplinary care approach to provide to patients who face chronic and complex issues across the continuum of their care. 

“This will include a bright and more spacious area for these patients who require dialysis and to be here three to four times a week, for three to four hours a day each time. It will also allow us to have isolation spaces for patients who require that,” said Crysdale. 

She said the infrastructure will help them develop a nighttime dialysis program for the first time here, allowing patients with that option if they’d like to dialyze overnight which will provide them with an increased quality of care during the day, allowing them to do what they need to do within their everyday life. 

“We are very pleased with this budget announcement and grateful for the funding that is being provided to enhance kidney care for patients in Lethbridge and this entire surrounding area,” said Crysdale.

A 57-year-old dialysis patient who requires treatment three times a week for four and half hours each day, Leonard Binning spoke about what this investment into the renal dialysis program means for him and his family. 

He said his treatments take place Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. He leaves his home at 5:00 p.m. and returns at approximately 10:30 p.m. 

“That’s spending four-and-a-half hours in a bed hooked up to a machine that literally saves my life, as it cleans my blood and does a lot of things that my kidneys normally would do, removing excess water and toxins from my body, that allows me a state of life where without the machine I would not be here today,” said Binning. 

He said without the treatment he would not be able to enjoy his wife of 35 years, his three children and four grandchildren. 

“It truly is a miraculous treatment,” said Binning. 

He said he was born and raised in Lethbridge, runs a business with his wife that is transitioning to his children and they are happy to stay within the community. 

“I’ve received several years of kidney care from Doctor Wong and never envisioned that I would be a dialysis patient, but three surgeries last year with an ankle that just simply wouldn’t respond properly, took a toll on my kidneys until the final surgery caused failure and that required me to go on dialysis 10 months ago,” said Binning. 

He said the treatment is a lifesaving or life extending program for him and hundreds of others here in Lethbridge.

“The current dialysis unit, not to complain, but it is very crowded both with equipment and with patients . . . so this announcement is amazing news for everyone,” said Binning. 

He said even though they had one expansion, it feels like drawing the short stick if a patient needs to use that area.

“It’s an old conference room, there’s literally no privacy, there are no televisions, not that that’s a requirement but it helps the four hours to go away, and there’s no ability to turn off the bright lights that are in your eyes overhead. So it really is a use-only-as-required area, so again this new expansion announcement is fantastic news,” said Binning. 

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