Niagara Falls MPP Kim Craitor joined NHS Interim President and CEO Sue Matthews today for a tour of the new satellite dialysis centre now under construction in the Falls.
There is a six-month construction schedule for the Niagara Falls site, with occupancy scheduled for late February 2013.
Once open, 110 patients will transfer from the current Ontario Street Site (OSS) dialysis unit to the GNG satellite, a state-of-the-art, twenty-first century care environment conveniently located close to their home. In addition, when the new hospital in St. Catharines opens in late March 2013, 140 patients will transfer from the OSS to the new dialysis unit. Dialysis service for acute and critical patients will also be provided at the St. Catharines site.
The Regional Kidney Care Program currently supports 570 individuals who are being treated for renal disease – of those 360 are on hemodialysis.
Dialysis services are currently provided at the Welland Satellite (WH) (24 stations – 105 patients), St. Catharines General Site (SCG) (2 stations for acute and critical care patients), and the Ontario Street Site (OSS) (46 stations – 255 patients).
Once construction is complete at the New Hospital (NH) in St. Catharines and the Niagara Falls Satellite, the OSS and SCG Site will discontinue hemodialysis service and the stations will transfer to the new sites with the following configuration; NH 25 stations, GNG Satellite 21 stations, WH 24 stations (status quo). This new configuration will ensure that NHS has the capacity to provide hemodialysis for up to 420 patients, with the capacity for future growth (5 stations) at NH (30 patients).
Kidney Care Programs in Ontario are organized in a ‘hub and spoke’ model. Regional Centres, as will be located in the new health complex in St. Catharines, are the ‘hub’ and satellites such as the one in progress for Niagara Falls is the ‘spoke’ (as are the dialysis stations in Welland).
As the ‘hub’ for the NHS Regional Kidney Care Program, the NH site will also include dedicated regional beds for renal patients, outpatient services including renal education services for patients not yet on dialysis, support services for patients on dialysis, home dialysis services (for hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis patients who independently manage their care at home), and transplant referral services.
As a ‘spoke’, the GNG satellite will include space for renal clinics and education services, as well as treatment room space. The GNG Site will have isolation capacity and includes a plan to support progressive self-care patients with treatment.
The goal of the regional Kidney Care Program is to empower and support as many patients as possible to be independent, managing routine care at home in partnership with health care providers from the program. Both the GNG satellite and the NH ‘hub’ have been designed to support patients with the transition from total care to supported care to progressive self-care to independent care at home.
A construction kick-off meeting for the GNG satellite was held on June 26, 2012, and demolition of the space (located on the 2nd floor) started on July 9, 2012.
The NHS is working with partners including our patients, the City of Niagara, the Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant Local Health Integration Network, the Ontario Renal Network, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, patient transport services, vendors and suppliers, and the landlord for the Queen St location to ensure a seamless transition to the new site.
