'Better patient experience': Orangeville hospital expanding hemodialysis unit
Headwaters Health Care Centre is getting set to expand and enhance its hemodialysis unit.
Kim Delahunt, CEO and president of Headwaters Health Care Centre (HHCC), said the hemodialysis unit was temporally moved five years ago for renovations and that work was halted by the pandemic.
During that time, HHCC re-evaluated its plans and adjusted them based on new data.
“The data now supports us also adding some extra hemodialysis chairs,” Delahunt said. “We're going to be able to not only provide better patient experience and newly-renovated area, but we're also adding three more chairs with potential to even bump up another three so were renovating and growing.”
Hemodialysis treatment is for patients with end-stage kidney disease. Patients are required to travel to the hospital three times a week and sit in a chair for up to four hours for treatment.
During the planning process, Delahunt said, current hemodialysis patients were included in providing feedback about what they would like to see in the new unit.
“It's really been codesigned with patients and their caregivers that are using our hemodialysis unit,” Delahunt said. “That's really exciting because we're going to get hopefully everything right, and it's going to have a real positive experience for those patients and many more to come in the future.”
HHCC currently treats 36 hemodialysis patients a year, and with the expansion will be able to treat up to 54 patients annually.
According to Delahunt, the waitlist for hemodialysis treatment fluctuates based on patient needs, nearest treatment location and availability.
The Orangeville hospital is a satellite hub of the William Osler Health System’s dialysis program.
According to the most recent Dialysis Capacity Analysis 2021 to 2031 from the Ontario Renal Network, HHCC is operating nearly at full capacity.
“In 2021, Headwaters operated 87 treatments per week out of a total capacity of 90 treatments, annually,” Delahunt said. “The analysis also shows that the need for hemodialysis will increase by 40 per cent by 2031, based on projected patient volumes at Headwaters.”
The current unit has no natural light and only has room for six chairs, and HHCC wants to make the experience more comfortable for patients and their caregivers.
According to K.C. Carruthers, CEO of the Headwater Health Care Foundation, along with the chair expansion, all the equipment will be updated.
“It feels so good to have it finally happening,” Carruthers said. “It's the second biggest piece of our current campaign, the biggest piece being the MRI.”
Carruthers said the renovation is expected to take six months and will draw $4 million from the Smart Headwaters campaign.
“It's just exciting that we're finally able to focus on future plans, future expansions and renovations because the future is very bright here for Headwaters and our communities are growing so they're relying on us to respond to the growth and demand,” Delahunt said. “We're doing our very best to do that, it's very exciting time for the hospital.”
Rebecca Weston, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Orangeville Banner
