News

The Kidney Foundation, Northern Alberta & the Territories Branch, is pleased to announce that dialysis patients at the Royal Alexandra and the Edmonton General Hospitals dialysis units will have new TVs for their dialysis runs.

Three times a week, in-centre dialysis patients are required to dialyze for a minimum of 4 hours per run.  With limited mobility and limited WI-FI available for patients to utilize other devices, patients have no choice but to sit on the ‘not-so-easy’ chairs and wait for their run to be over.

This initiative started in 2015 when a dialysis patient contacted the Kidney Foundation complaining about the TV set in the units. As soon this patient voiced their concerns to the Kidney Foundation, the ball started rolling to see how the TVs could be replaced.

“It was the luck of the draw, really, being set up for dialysis with a functioning TV. Dialysis is never enjoyable or easy, but at the very least, the functioning TVs allow me and other patients to pass the time in a somewhat comfortable manner”, states Jeff Shuman a current dialysis patient at the Royal Alexandra Hospital Renal Unit.
Flavia Robles, Executive Director for the Northern Alberta & the Territories Branch, says “While dialysis is a life-saving treatment, the 4 hour runs take a significant toll on a patient’s body. It’s uncomfortable.  At the Foundation, patient care and patient services is what drives our work. To us, this was unacceptable, so we took action to see how could help improve their experience.”

In total, 22 TVs at the Royal Alexandra and 8 TVs at the Edmonton General Hospitals were replaced and installed, resulting in a $36,000 cost. “I am proud of the support we received from everyone on our Board of Directors and staff to see how we could direct funds to support these patients”, notes Robles.

The new TVs were installed this month, two years after the process began, leading to many smiles across the units.

Su-Ling Goh from Global News Edmonton covered this story on Health Matters!