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New Dialysis Center Offers Convenience, Comfort
Many conditions, including diabetes,
congestive heart failure,
and high blood pressure, can
lead to kidney failure. When the kidneys
stop working, dialysis becomes necessary.
During dialysis, a machine filters and
cleans the blood. Dialysis patients often
have treatment three times a week for
several hours each day. That's why comfort
and convenience are paramount to these
patients — especially if they work full
time, as many do.
Jersey Shore University Medical Center
has made the process easier. In February
2008, it opened the Jane H. Booker
Outpatient Dialysis Center on Route 33
in Neptune. This stand-alone center offers
expert staff and state-of-the-art equipment
in a pleasant environment.
"Good dialysis care is extremely
important," says Avais Masud, M.D., a
board certified nephrologist at Jersey Shore
University Medical Center. "It can change
a patient's quality of life and longevity.
We're fortunate this outpatient center is
very close to a major hospital so staff can
move back and forth between facilities."
Comfort and Convenience
The outpatient center has 25 spacious, private
patient stations with reclining chairs.
Cable television and wireless Internet
access are available. Each station has a
curtain partition for patient privacy.
That's important to Leo Barros, 46,
of Toms River, who has been undergoing
dialysis since August 2007. He comes
to the center three times a week, four
hours a night, while balancing a full-time
job. "At the hospital we were right next
to each other," he says. "Now we each
have our own cubicle equipped with a
satellite TV. I can even bring my iPod or
watch a DVD."
Leo also appreciates the ample free
parking located just outside the door to
the building. "This facility is just for dialysis
patients, so parking is easier," he says.
Dedicated Staff, State-of-the-Art Equipment
Staff includes kidney specialists from
Jersey Shore and nurses with experience
caring for dialysis patients. Dr. Masud
— the only interventional nephrologist in
the region — makes his rounds with two
dietitians, a pharmacist, a social worker,
and dialysis nurses.
The dietitian helps advise patients
about their diet. Dialysis patients need
a diet high in protein and low in phosphate
and potassium, Dr. Masud explains.
Patients also may take vitamins such as folic acid. The pharmacist helps them
avoid drug interactions and side effects.
The social worker helps patients with
social or psychological issues.
During dialysis, blood is removed from
the body and filtered through a membrane
called a dialyzer. The filtered blood is then
returned to the body. The new center has
dialyzers in different sizes and capacities
to meet patients' needs.
The center also has equipment that
allows staff to control the quantity and
rate at which fluid is removed from the
body, says Dr. Masud. The equipment has
multiple alarms to alert staff to potential
problems. "We're offering outpatients the
same high-tech equipment we offer at the
hospital to give them the best possible
dialysis experience."
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