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DaVita Healthcare Partners —
Leading the Way
in Home Dialysis
F
or those who require dialysis, any
improvements in the procedure are
welcomed. While the technology has
advanced progressively since dialysis was
introduced in the U.S. in the 1940s, patients in
most cases still need to travel to a local dialysis
clinic several times a week for treatments that
can last upwards of four hours each. So it’s
easy to see how travel and treatment times can
impair the quality of life for dialysis patients.
Fortunately, DaVita Healthcare Partners in
Robinson is offering a solution to make dialysis
less time-intensive and more comfortable. The
answer is home dialysis, a self-administered
dialysis solution for eligible patients.
Home dialysis gives patients the freedom to
choose when they dialyze, in the comfort of
their own home. Patients have more time to
spend with family, and can relax with a book,
their favorite TV shows, or the conversation
of friends and family while they dialyze. The
home dialysis machines allow patients to travel
more as well.
What would you do with
more time at home?
Kelly Kovacicek, facility administrator for
DaVita, said home dialysis is the way to go.
Most health professionals when asked if they
had to go on dialysis which modality they
would choose, say a home modality.
“It’s better doing it at home than at a facility
because patients can dialyze in the comfort
of their own home and decide on how to use
their free time. They
may work nights and
choose to dialyze in
the morning,” she said.
“There’s an improvement in quality of life.”
Kovacicek explained that prior to patients
starting home dialysis, they are trained on the
technique and how to use the machine over
the course of four to six weeks. The training is
done at the facility. Once they are on a home
treatment schedule, patients are only required
to make monthly visits to the clinic to meet
with a physician, dietician, social worker, and
a nurse to monitor their progress and review
their outcomes.
Home dialysis can also improve the overall
health of patients by allowing them to dialyze
more frequently, meaning they have better
control over their fluid retention, which can
lead to less medication over time. Recovery
time after dialysis at home is less as well.
Increased frequency of dialysis at home
also means that dietary restrictions can be
loosened with doctor supervision.
What’s more, home dialysis is a covered
by insurance, whether patients have
Medicare, Medicaid, or a commercial provider.
DaVita always has a nurse on call and the
manufacturers have technicians on call should
patients encounter any problems or difficulties.
For more information on DaVita Healthcare
Partners, and to see if home dialysis is a good
fit for you, call 1.800.424.6589. The office
is located at 5888 Steubenville Pike, McKees
Rocks, PA 15136. For more information about
DaVita and all the services offered, go to the
website at davita.com.
Carlynton-Montour | Fall 2016 | icmags.com 29