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New kidney dialysis center opens
By Francesca Olsen
Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
Imagine needing dialysis three times a week, but there’s no dialysis center close by. What do you do if you aren’t able to commute for your required medical procedure?
Those residents in Columbia County who have found themselves asking this question need ask no more, because a new dialysis center is open on Route 66 in Hudson.
Officially open since June 1, Columbia-Greene Dialysis also has a center in Catskill. CEO Dr. Vinny Anand, a Nephrologist (someone who has been trained in the diagnosis and treatment of kidney diseases) and graduate from Westchester Medical Center, started his business here to bring dialysis services to residents who previously had to go a lot further.
“I wanted to be in upstate New York,” he said. “I was attracted by the fact that this wide geographical area did not have any dialysis centers. I thought I could contribute.”
So far, Anand said he sees about 130-140 patients regularly. “Patients are usually on machine dialysis and home dialysis,” he said.
“Each patient needs dialysis three times a week. In harsh weather, mainly, people do not want to travel across county lines,” Anand said. “This is the only unit in Columbia County.”
Around 20 people are employed at the dialysis center, including two doctors and a nurse practitioner. “We hired technicians, nurses, licensed practical nurses and secretarial staff based on word of mouth and advertisement through the local newspaper,” Anand said.
Anand said he chose the site on Route 66 because of its existing hookups to all necessary infrastructure. “This place is ideally equipped,” he said, noting that the site was already hooked into gas, water, and electric. “This is the basic essential for putting in any dialysis unit,” he said.
Dialysis is a complicated process where an individual’s blood is cleansed of the toxins the kidneys normally would flush out. During hemodialysis, blood circulates outside of the patient’s body, and goes through a machine that filters out toxins and waste products from the blood.
Patients need to be prepared for the hemodialysis procedure, and surgery is required -- a blood vessel, usually in the arm, must be enlarged so that a catheter can be inserted.
In addition to dialysis, Columbia-Greene Dialysis also consults patients prior to the decision to opt for the procedure. “We see patients before they go on dialysis and take all the necessary measures to prevent them from going to dialysis,” Anand said.
Anand said that the kidney failure is growing “all across the United States and worldwide as people live longer.”
“There’s nothing to replace kidney function,” said Anand. “The number of patients in the USA has doubled over the past 10 years, and the number is expected to double in the next 10 years.”
This is due partially to an increasing elderly population in the United States.
“These people usually go home and carry on day to day activities,” said Anand. “They are relatively healthy otherwise.”
The Columbia County Chamber of Commerce will perform a ribbon cutting at the dialysis center Thursday, August 6.
For more information about Columbia-Greene Dialysis, call the Columbia County center at 828-0717.
To reach reporter Francesca Olsen call 518-828-1616, ext. 2272, or e-mail folsen@registerstar.com.
Those residents in Columbia County who have found themselves asking this question need ask no more, because a new dialysis center is open on Route 66 in Hudson.
Officially open since June 1, Columbia-Greene Dialysis also has a center in Catskill. CEO Dr. Vinny Anand, a Nephrologist (someone who has been trained in the diagnosis and treatment of kidney diseases) and graduate from Westchester Medical Center, started his business here to bring dialysis services to residents who previously had to go a lot further.
“I wanted to be in upstate New York,” he said. “I was attracted by the fact that this wide geographical area did not have any dialysis centers. I thought I could contribute.”
So far, Anand said he sees about 130-140 patients regularly. “Patients are usually on machine dialysis and home dialysis,” he said.
“Each patient needs dialysis three times a week. In harsh weather, mainly, people do not want to travel across county lines,” Anand said. “This is the only unit in Columbia County.”
Around 20 people are employed at the dialysis center, including two doctors and a nurse practitioner. “We hired technicians, nurses, licensed practical nurses and secretarial staff based on word of mouth and advertisement through the local newspaper,” Anand said.
Anand said he chose the site on Route 66 because of its existing hookups to all necessary infrastructure. “This place is ideally equipped,” he said, noting that the site was already hooked into gas, water, and electric. “This is the basic essential for putting in any dialysis unit,” he said.
Dialysis is a complicated process where an individual’s blood is cleansed of the toxins the kidneys normally would flush out. During hemodialysis, blood circulates outside of the patient’s body, and goes through a machine that filters out toxins and waste products from the blood.
Patients need to be prepared for the hemodialysis procedure, and surgery is required -- a blood vessel, usually in the arm, must be enlarged so that a catheter can be inserted.
In addition to dialysis, Columbia-Greene Dialysis also consults patients prior to the decision to opt for the procedure. “We see patients before they go on dialysis and take all the necessary measures to prevent them from going to dialysis,” Anand said.
Anand said that the kidney failure is growing “all across the United States and worldwide as people live longer.”
“There’s nothing to replace kidney function,” said Anand. “The number of patients in the USA has doubled over the past 10 years, and the number is expected to double in the next 10 years.”
This is due partially to an increasing elderly population in the United States.
“These people usually go home and carry on day to day activities,” said Anand. “They are relatively healthy otherwise.”
The Columbia County Chamber of Commerce will perform a ribbon cutting at the dialysis center Thursday, August 6.
For more information about Columbia-Greene Dialysis, call the Columbia County center at 828-0717.
To reach reporter Francesca Olsen call 518-828-1616, ext. 2272, or e-mail folsen@registerstar.com.
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franfine2nd wrote on Aug 6, 2009 3:17 PM: