Seeking to Fill a Vital Need
August 31, 2022
Paul Aylward
While experiencing his own health complications, Paul Aylward, former Huron mayor and former HRMC board member, unexpectedly found himself in need of a service many people may assume would be available on demand: dialysis. “I was having some heart trouble and stomach issues, so I was admitted to HRMC to get that taken care of,” Aylward says. “While in the hospital, I had a heart attack.”
During the follow-up examinations that doctors performed on Aylward, they discovered his kidneys were not functioning properly. Dialysis would be required to address the issue. Naturally, Aylward tried to schedule his dialysis treatments at HRMC, his community hospital, but because of the number of patients needing dialysis at that time, there was a waiting list.
“I didn’t realize how many people need this service,” Aylward says. “I was number 14 on the waiting list, but I couldn’t wait. I needed my dialysis.”
With no local options available at the time, Aylward made the drive to Mitchell three times a week for 3.5-hour dialysis sessions. But the solution was not ideal.
“Going out of town was a real hardship,” Aylward says. “The doctors and nurses were wonderful there, but it would have been nice to be able to stay here at HRMC. My experience forced me to realize we need to expand our dialysis facility to be able to meet the fluctuating need of patients in our region.”
A WIDESPREAD NECESSITY
Jennifer Jungemann, RN, BSN
HRMC dialysis director
Aylward’s experience is not unique, unfortunately. Kidney disease, which occurs when damaged kidneys cannot filter waste from blood, is one of the fastest-growing conditions in the country. Those living with the disease are at risk for serious health complications, including heart disease, damage to the central nervous system and increased risk of infections due to compromised immune function.
Dialysis is essential in mitigating those complications in patients like Aylward. The machine used during this process takes over the responsibility of filtering waste from the blood. But like Aylward, others living with kidney complications could travel as much as an hour or more to receive life-sustaining dialysis. For some, accessing timely dialysis services means making a five-hour, round-trip drive, on top of three to five hours of treatment. And according to HRMC dialysis director Jennifer Jungemann, RN, BSN, the trip doesn’t always happen.
“Traveling out of town for dialysis is a full-time job,” Jungemann says. “Some don’t have the resources or time to manage the trip, so they don’t. As a result, toxins build up in their system and they can get quite ill.”
ON A MISSION TO MEET THE NEED
Since 1982, HRMC has offered dialysis in the medical center’s Central Tower, where seven dialysis chairs serve 21 patients a week. Aylward’s experience illustrates that those seven chairs are simply not enough to serve our community.
HRMC leadership and the board’s construction committee are researching options to expand the dialysis unit and offer this life-saving treatment to more patients locally. In addition, the HRMC Foundation has committed to increasing support available to the dialysis department through the dialysis endowment, which will help to offset some of the operating losses.
“The people in our communities in need of dialysis are our neighbors, coworkers, leaders and friends,” says Erick Larson, president and chief executive officer of HRMC. “Though dialysis isn’t a profitable department for HRMC, it’s an essential service to those who are in need, and we’re thankful to increase access for them.”
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