Home Sweet Home
A generous donation from Qualico brings home dialysis closer to reality.
Shane Erickson, regional vice president, northern Alberta for Qualico, understands the value of strong partnerships and the role they can play in transforming lives. Take their donation to the University Hospital Foundation (UHF), for example. Qualico’s generous $750,000 gift promises to open doors to a new way of life for people living with end-stage kidney disease.
“I’ve heard stories about how difficult it is for hemodialysis patients, especially those who don’t live close to an urban centre. It struck me how disruptive and difficult life would be,” says Erickson.
By helping to equip the second floor of the new West Edmonton Kidney Care (WEKC) centre, operated by the Alberta Kidney Care — North program at the University of Alberta Hospital, Qualico is making it easier for people on dialysis to transition to home therapies, a move that long time dialysis patient Taryn Gantar says changed her life.
“Support from business leaders like Qualico is exactly what we need to provide people living with end-stage kidney disease access to expanded care and training for home therapies.”
— Dr. Kailash Jindal, Medical Director of Alberta Kidney Care — North
“No more 15-20 hours a week at the hospital. No more looking for parking. With home dialysis, I can dialyze whenever I want for as long as I want,” says Gantar.
The optimal treatment for people living with end-stage kidney disease is a kidney transplant, but that can take years to happen and not everyone qualifies, leaving dialysis as their only option. Incentre hemodialysis involves three to four sessions every week for four to five hours at a time, plus travel. In comparison, home dialysis offers more flexibility and most importantly, independence, creating opportunities for school, work and spending quality time with family.
“Qualico’s generous donation will ultimately make life better for Albertans living with end-stage kidney disease, and speaks volumes to the incredible impact that our corporate partners have on the communities they work in,” says Dr. Jodi L. Abbott, president and CEO of the University Hospital Foundation.
It will also help lighten the load on facility-based dialysis units like WEKC. Cases of end-stage kidney disease are increasing at a rate of 4 per cent per year in Alberta, putting added strain
on facilities that are already near or at capacity. Currently, Alberta Kidney Care — North has 30 per cent of their dialysis patients on a home therapy. Their goal is to increase that support to 40 per cent of the dialysis patients by 2025.
“Support from business leaders like Qualico is exactly what we need to provide people living with end-stage kidney disease access to expanded care and training for home therapies,” says Dr. Kailash Jindal, Medical Director of Alberta Kidney Care — North.
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