HEMODIALYSIS SERVICE EXPANDS IN PRINCE ALBERT

Residents of Prince Albert and area now have better access to hemodialysis services.

The province has made a $600,000 annual funding commitment to allow the city's hemodialysis satellite to increase its hours by 50 per cent. The unit is now open six evenings a week, allowing it to accommodate an additional 12 patients who need regular hemodialysis.

"Expansion of hemodialysis services reflects a commitment in The Action Plan for Saskatchewan Health Care to provide accessible, quality health care services, within a sustainable health system," Health Minister John Nilson said. "We recognize the growing need for dialysis, and this expansion represents our continuing efforts to provide health services closer to patients' homes.

"The resources we have committed will make a significant difference in the lives of individual patients and their families. I thank Prince Albert Parkland Health Region and its unit's excellent staff for their support in this priority area," Nilson concluded.

"The region is pleased to be able to serve additional hemodialysis patients," Prince Albert Parkland Regional Health Authority chairperson Ray Ewanchuk said. "Some patients have been making two or three trips a week to Saskatoon for this treatment and the expanded hours of service in Prince Albert should help reduce their travel time, stress and expenses, and allow them to lead more normal lives."

Dialysis centres in Saskatoon and Regina serve about 80 per cent of Saskatchewan's hemodialysis patients and act as "home units" for seven satellite sites across the province. The satellite sites are located in Prince Albert, Tisdale, Moose Jaw, Lloydminster, Swift Current, Yorkton and North Battleford.

"The need for dialysis service is growing by about 10 per cent every year," Medical Director of the Saskatoon home unit and the northern satellites Dr. George Pylypchuk said. "Prince Albert's expanded unit will help meet the rising demand, and I am pleased that it will also support Saskatoon's hemodialysis centre by reducing the number of patients using that facility."

Saskatchewan Health continues to support population health initiatives that will promote the positive benefits of healthy lifestyles in preventing Type 2 diabetes, the leading cause of kidney disease. It costs between $40,000 and $50,000 per year to provide hemodialysis to one patient.

Hemodialysis is one form of kidney replacement therapy, which removes waste from the blood by simulating natural kidney function. The other form of dialysis, peritoneal dialysis, is done at home. Dialysis prevents a build up of toxins that can be debilitating and ultimately fatal.

About 625 dialysis patients receive care in Saskatchewan; approximately 500 of those receive hemodialysis. Another 125 people use peritoneal dialysis, about 400 people are living with a kidney transplant and over 875 patients with various stages of chronic kidney disease are attending Chronic Renal Insufficiency (CRI) clinics. The CRI program operates as an inter-disciplinary approach to chronic kidney disease care, to delay or prevent the need for kidney replacement therapy.

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For More Information, Contact:

Jocelyn Argue Health Regina Phone: (306) 787-4083

Doug Dahl Prince Albert Parkland Health Region Prince Albert Phone: (306) 765-6102