CLAY, N.Y. — St. Joseph’s Health has partnered with Fresenius Kidney Care to open a new home therapies dialysis center at its Seneca campus at 8302 Provo Drive in Clay.
The project has a total cost of more than $800,000, Fresenius Kidney Care said in an email reply to a BJNN inquiry.
Fresenius Kidney Care is the dialysis division of Waltham, Massachusetts–based Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA).
The 2,500-square-foot facility, set to open later this month, will serve as a training center for patients who dialyze at home, per a news release.
Empire Commercial Construction, which is based in Penfield, near Rochester, handled work on the expansion project. Empire is a retail-specific division of regional general contractor Taylor–The builders, which is also based on Penfield.
The firm worked with Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin–based Christopher Kidd and Associates, LLC, which handled the design work on the project.
About home dialysis
Fresenius Kidney Care says many experts agree that home dialysis — either peritoneal or hemodialysis — is the “best option” for treating kidney failure with dialysis. Choosing at-home dialysis can mean “greater” scheduling flexibility, fewer food restrictions, and “better” outcomes. Home-dialysis treatment can also be done “longer and more frequently, making it gentler on the body.”
“Home dialysis allows patients to integrate this life-sustaining treatment into their lifestyle and schedule in the most convenient way possible,” Dr. Jeffrey Hymes, chief medical officer for Fresenius Kidney Care, said in the release. “We believe that home dialysis should be offered to all patients, and thanks to advances in technology, awareness and support, we are making this a reality.”
Dialysis treatment for kidney failure rids the body of unwanted toxins, waste products and excess fluids by filtering the blood. When kidneys fail, they are unable to filter the blood for toxins.
People living with kidney failure generally go through dialysis three days a week for four hours per treatment to filter their blood.
One in seven adults will develop chronic kidney disease, “with many not detecting the condition” until they have lost more than 90 percent of their kidney function, Fresenius Kidney Care said.
More than 660,000 Americans live with end stage renal disease, or kidney failure, which requires either a transplant or dialysis to remove waste from the blood, maintain safe levels of potassium and sodium, and control blood pressure. Currently, 468,000 people in the U.S. depend on dialysis as a life-sustaining treatment, per the release.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com