Story by Nicole Brooks de Gier for Nova Scotia Health Authority
The expansion of hemodialysis is part of health care redevelopment projects across the province, including Cape Breton, South Shore, the QEII Health Sciences Centre and Dartmouth General Hospital. As a result, David Landry, senior director, Nova Scotia Health renal program and Angela Shorter, Nova Scotia Health renal program manager, central and northern zone, hemodialysis, have spent much of the time fine tuning the future of renal care in Nova Scotia. “Dialysis takes up a lot of time for patients and their families,” said Shorter. “By expanding Dartmouth’s dialysis capacity, 36 more patients can have their treatment closer to their homes.” Shorter and Landry have been working collaboratively with the Nova Scotia Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal to emphasize that the design of the dialysis unit must focus on improving patient care and the patient experience. This will also create an improved working environment for staff. “We’re improving staff sight lines, creating more workstations and increasing the size of the dialysis stations, which results both in a more positive work environment and better care environment,” explained Landry. Improved features in the new dialysis units include:
- An inviting, modern environment
- 100 sq. foot semi-private dialysis stations for patient and staff comfort
- Private consult and observation areas
- Technology-ready stations where patients can plug-in devices
- Alcoves and storage for personal belongings
“We’ve learned to speak a different language. We speak and talk infrastructure now because we’ve really advocated for spaces that will best suit patient care and patient needs,” said Landry. “We’re excited and happy to build something that will really improve care for our patients and be great work spaces for staff.”