Five dialysis units at a cost of $103,000 to be put in place at the new hospital in Corner Brook

Teara Freake is the V-P and Chief Operating Officer Western. She says this will increase capacity, allow more flexibility for booking and provide an opportunity for more maintenance. 

Five new dialysis units are being put into operation at Western Memorial Regional Hospital in Corner Brook at a cost of $103,000. Dialysis is a replacement therapy provided to patients with advanced kidney failure and is an important part of the management of chronic kidney disease. A dialysis machine is used for hemodialysis, which is a life-saving treatment that replaces the work of a person’s kidneys to clear waste and fluid from their body. Teara Freake is the V-P and Chief Operating Officer Western. She says this will increase capacity, allow more flexibility for booking and provide an opportunity for more maintenance. 

Meanwhile, recruitment remains ongoing despite the fact there is a new cancer care unit in the new hospital. Debbie Molloy is the VP Human resources with NL health Services. She says the cancer care program is a new service in the western zone and they have had difficulty with recruitment of these specialized physicians. Molloy says now they’re working on a recruitment campaign that is very focused and there could be another solution looking at creative ways to provide staffing with an announcement coming soon. 

Molloy says as they get established as NL Health Services, they’re trying hard to do proactive workforce planning. One Health Accord NL recommendation was placing greater emphasis on health promotion and chronic disease management.