Jan. 27 - Lakeridge Health begins Work on Dialysis Trailers at Lakeridge Health Whitby
Town of Whitby approves Building Permit
January 27, 2009
(Whitby, ON) Lakeridge Health has received Site Plan and Building permit approvals from the Town of Whitby and will begin work next week (February 2) on assembly of the Modular Dialysis Unit consisting of 17 trailer sections and one mobile air handling unit located at Lakeridge Health (LH) Whitby.
Lakeridge Health purchased the 12,000 square foot modular dialysis unit in the summer of 2008 in an effort to provide more comfortable and appropriate care for the Whitby patients and staff temporarily relocated to older, less patient friendly areas at LH Oshawa. This new unit is equipped to operate 28 dialysis stations including necessary support space.
An electrical fire caused the evacuation of LH Whitby site – which housed one of the largest dialysis programs in Canada, in July 2007.
“The relocation of Lakeridge Health Whitby services, in particular our Dialysis program, has been a priority for everyone at Lakeridge Health and the Central-East LHIN,” said Kevin Empey, President and CEO of Lakeridge Health. “Although we were fortunate to have temporary space at Lakeridge Health Oshawa to care for our dialysis patients, the space is not ideal and has also created many challenges for our patients, their families, as well as our staff and physicians.”
Dineen Construction has been awarded the contract to reassemble the modular Dialysis Unit. The hospital and contractor have agreed to maximize the use of local trades at Lakeridge Health Whitby.
“We expect that the trailers will be ready for occupancy this spring,” noted Empey. “The new unit will also free up the temporary locations at Lakeridge Health Oshawa in order to allow the next phase of construction at the Oshawa site.”
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For more information, please contact:
Leigh Winn-Kruck
Lakeridge Health, Communications
Tel: 905-576-8711 ext. 4317
lwinn-kruck@lakeridgehealth.on.ca
Backgrounder on Lakeridge Health’s Regional Nephrology System (RNS)
Interesting Facts
- Lakeridge Health’s RNS care for approximately 1,000 chronic kidney disease patients per year. Hours of Operation: The Hemodialysis unit operates Monday to Saturday 6:45 am to 10:30 pm. We offer 24/7 on-call coverage after hours.
- Approximately 215 patients receive In-Centre Hemodialysis 6 days per week, 3 treatments per week for four hour durations.
- In-Centre Hemodialysis is open all statutory holidays except for Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
- An average dialysis session lasts for 4 hours. A hemodialysis machine requires 1000 ml of water per minute – we have 38 In-Centre Hemodialysis Unit.
Lakeridge Health’s Regional Nephrology System offers:
- Help prevent or delay the onset of dialysis through education at it’s Kidney Care Clinic
- Provides Home Peritoneal Dialysis
- Provides Home Hemodialysis education and services
- Currently the program offers a:
- 28 station In-Centre Hemodialysis Unit (LHW)
- 10 bed In-Patient Hemodialysis Unit (LHO)
- 18 bed In-Patient Nephrology Unit
Regional Nephrology Program’s current patient demographics are:
- While the primary catchment area for the Regional Nephrology System is Durham Region (Pickering, Ajax, Whitby, Oshawa, Clarington, Uxbridge, Brock and Scugog) the RNS also provides service to patients who live in York Region, Toronto, Victoria County, Peterborough, and Northumberland County.
Benefits of Temporary Dialysis Unit at Lakeridge Health Whitby
- Better, more comfortable space/environment for Hemodialysis staff, patients and physicians
- Allows Lakeridge Health Oshawa to begin the next phase of construction (Floors 3 to 8 for inpatient beds including: Maternal Newborn, Paediatrics, Child & Adolescent Mental Health, Adult Mental Health, Rehabilitation, Medical/Surgical Units (2) and Dialysis)
- Reduced pedestrian and vehicle traffic at Lakeridge Health Oshawa
Cost of Temporary Dialysis Unit at Lakeridge Health Whitby
- The cost to reassemble the mobile dialysis unit is $2.1M
- The entire project will cost $2.6M