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New dialysis center opens at Kuakini Medical Center in Honolulu

HMSA

Kuakini Medical Center in Honolulu is opening the state’s first dialysis center for patients who live with end-stage renal disease.

The nonprofit kidney dialysis provider, Satellite Healthcare, is supplying the equipment. Hawaiʻi Kidney Care at Kuakini is also partnering with The Queen’s Health System and Hawai‘i Medical Service Association.

"The impact we hope to have in the community is to help local hospitals discharge their dialysis patients more timely," said Greg Schlais, the Hawaiʻi general manager of Satellite Healthcare.

More than 10% of Hawaiʻi residents experience chronic kidney disease. Hawai‘i’s kidney failure rate is 30% higher than the national rate.

"Oftentimes some of the other local dialysis providers may be unable to take them because of either space issues, they need higher staffing. And so this facility was designed to actually primarily take a lot of those patients to help decompress local hospitals so that dialysis patients can get discharged more timely and get to go home faster," Schlais said.

Kuakini hosted a blessing ceremony last week. The facility will provide in-center dialysis as well as home dialysis training for patients.

Zoe Dym was a news producer at Hawaiʻi Public Radio.
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