Hemodialysis Den

We chose our dialysis partner carefully, and we are proud that it is Dialyze Direct. They are the nation's largest provider of staff-assisted home hemodialysis in skilled nursing facilities, caring for residents in more than 180 buildings across the country, and they pioneered the idea of bringing dialysis into the nursing home rather than sending residents out to it. Working alongside our team, they designed and equipped a dedicated dialysis den right here at Orchard Manor.

For our residents, the difference is felt in the ordinary hours of the day. There is no early-morning wait for a transport van, no long ride to a clinic in another town, and no afternoon lost to the trip home. Meals are not missed, therapy sessions are not rescheduled, and a daughter who drives out to visit at two o'clock will find her mother here. Residents who once spent three days a week away from the community can be part of it again.

The care itself is gentler. Treatments are shorter and are built around the resident's day rather than a clinic's schedule, pursuant to a physician's order, in a rhythm that more closely resembles the work of healthy kidneys. Most residents are back on their feet within a couple of hours of finishing. Fluid and blood pressure are managed more steadily, and because recovery is quicker, residents have the energy to take a full part in their rehabilitation. For those with us short-term, that often means going home sooner.

Their clinical team — a nephrologist, dialysis nurse, dietitian, and social worker — works directly with our nurses on each resident's care plan, so kidney care and nursing care are one conversation rather than two. Their nurses also receive specialised training in vascular access care, and the result is a catheter infection rate roughly seventy percent below the industry average, which means fewer hospital trips and fewer interruptions to recovery.