Thursday, November 21, 2024
Woodbine Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center celebrated the opening of its new Dialysis Den Nov. 13 with a ribbon cutting attended by local officials and healthcare industry leaders.
“Today is a momentous occasion as we open an in-house dialysis center at Woodbine,” said Donna Shaw, Administrator of Woodbine. “What is extra special about this dialysis center is that Woodbine takes care of many respiratory patients on ventilators that are unable to leave to be dialyzed. We will be able to support our ventilator patients that need dialysis and that is a game changer.”
Shaw attributed the realization of the new dialysis center to the efforts of Marquee Health Services.
“Marquee Health Services, who consult with Woodbine, took the time, energy, and money and invested in this new dialysis center,” Shaw said. “This center will initially be for residents only but there is the possibility that we will be able to open our doors to the community.”
Assisting with the ribbon cutting were Interim Chief of Police Raul Pedroso, Sheriff Sean Casey and Chamber of Commerce CEO Joe Haggerty.
“This is one of the few assisted living facilities in the entire country to have this capability,” Haggerty said. “Woodbine is doing great things and the potential to open this to the community is unbelievable.”
Shaw, herself the recipient of a kidney transplant, noted that many dialysis patients are unable to be treated at other facilities.
“For patients that are special, that are on a ventilator or have a tracheostomy, other centers can't accept them because of their clinical complications,” Shaw said. “That is one of the problems that we're solving for the community -- those patients will be able to live here and be able to be dialyzed without ever having to leave home.”
According to the CDC, more than 1-in-7 adults have chronic kidney disease with as many as 9 in 10 unaware of their condition.
“Chronic kidney failure is everywhere,” Shaw said. “I had a kidney transplant so I've been living with chronic kidney disease for a long time. I'm one of the lucky ones, though, but not everyone is as lucky as me and they need to be dialyzed to live. That is what makes having this facility such a blessing.”
Officials gather for a ribbon cutting to celebrate the opening of the Dialysis Den Nov. 13 at Woodbine Rehabilitation Healthcare Center.