The treatment prospects for kidney dialysis patients could be improving in Clark County.
Fresenius Medical Care North America plans to build a new dialysis center in Vancouver to meet the area’s growing demand for the service. The Waltham, Mass.-based company will build either a 24-station or a 26-station facility, contingent on approval from the Washington state Department of Health’s certificate of need program, said Jean Stevens, regional vice president of Fresenius. She said no location has been selected.
o Previously: Since 2004, Fresenius Medical Care North America has offered kidney dialysis services in Vancouver through the Pacific Northwest Renal Services clinic.
o What’s new: The company has submitted a proposal to build a new kidney dialysis center in Vancouver to meet the area’s growing demand.
o What’s next: As part of its application, Fresenius will document how its proposal meets state criteria. A state decision is expected in nine months or less.
o Previously: Since 2004, Fresenius Medical Care North America has offered kidney dialysis services in Vancouver through the Pacific Northwest Renal Services clinic.
o What's new: The company has submitted a proposal to build a new kidney dialysis center in Vancouver to meet the area's growing demand.
o What's next: As part of its application, Fresenius will document how its proposal meets state criteria. A state decision is expected in nine months or less.
“We’re at a very preliminary stage at this point,” Stevens said.
Fresenius already offers kidney dialysis in Vancouver through Pacific Northwest Renal Services. The company operates a 24-station clinic at 312 S.E. Stonemill Drive and a 16-station center at 9105 N.E. Highway 99, Suite 102.
The new facility could cost between $1.8 million and $1.9 million to develop.
State approval could take up to nine months to receive, Stevens said. She said the state has already determined a need for 24 additional Clark County stations.
“The reason we submitted the 26-unit proposal was because we estimated there could be patients from Skamania County,” Stevens said
Fresenius has submitted several other letters of intent to the state, including a four-station facility proposed for Skamania County.
As part of the state’s analysis, health department officials will review the proposals against the criteria outlined in rules for dialysis projects statewide, said Janis Sigman, program manager for the department’s Certificate of Need Program.
The program is designed to ensure that expensive health care services meet, but do not exceed, the needs of an area’s population.
Kidney dialysis is a life-saving treatment that cleans the blood of people with renal failure, according to the National Kidney Foundation. The treatment is often time-consuming, requiring patients to visit a clinic three times a week for hours at a time.
Stevens expects demand for dialysis to grow as Clark County’s population develops ailments associated with aging.
“Diabetes and high blood pressure often generate the need for kidney dialysis,” Stevens said.
