The University Health System announced a new partnership with Centra Health last week to build two new dialysis centers in Farmville and Appomattox.
Centra Health is a non-profit health care organization servicing central and southern Virginia. Centra was founded in December 1986, following the merger of Lynchburg General-Marshall Lodge Hospital and Virginia Baptist Hospital. As of 2006, Southside Community hospital in Farmville became an affiliate.
“We hope that the partnership between U.Va Health System and Centra is just the start
of future areas of collaboration,” said Dr. Mark Okusa, Chief of the University’s Nephrology Division. “When two outstanding organizations team up we have the ability to synergize and provide complimentary services that improve the care of patients in Virginia.”
Currently, these dialysis facilities are the only joint venture planned by the University and Centra. The partnership will expand dialysis coverage for patients at the Health System, increasing the network from eight current dialysis centers to 10, simultaneously creating 30 new full-time jobs.
Adults with diabetes mellitus and high blood pressure are at an increased risk of kidney failure, also known as end-stage renal disease. In 2011, 113,136 patients in the United States began treatment for ESRD, according to the Center for Disease Control. Research links diabetes to a sevenfold increase in ESRD, and consequently a growing demand on the Virginia health infrastructure to provide dialysis treatments or transplants necessary for survival.
Hemodialysis, the most common form of dialysis, is a treatment that mimics the role of the kidneys. The kidneys serve as a biological filtration system, removing non-recyclable waste
such as urea while maintaining the balance of mineral ions, biological molecules and water
levels in the blood.
Hemodialysis utilizes a partially permeable membrane, separating blood from the
dialysate. Small waste products and fluid travel through the membrane in response to
hydrostatic pressure, leaving red blood cells and other essential components behind. This
process is time consuming, with three weekly sessions lasting up to five hours.
In 2012, 8.7 percent of adults in Virginia reported a physician diagnosis of diabetes, an increase of 45 percent within the past nine years. The increase in diabetes is more pronounced among those living in southwestern and south-central Virginia. The new centers will alleviate this growing demand for dialysis.
“In the changing medical environment, partnering with Centra makes good sense; it is a
win-win, especially for the patients,” Okusa said. “We believe the U.Va. Health System provides the best dialysis facilities in the region.”
The two new facilities will provide treatment for 32,000 patients each year, offering
enhanced coverage and convenience to residents of Virginia. The facilities will also offer
training for home dialysis. Home dialysis requires either the installation of hemodialysis
machines or the use of peritoneal dialysis, a process that utilizes the membrane lining the
abdomen as a natural filter.
Okusa said the management team will consist of leadership from both the University and
Centra, including nephrologists from the Health System and from Lynchburg Nephrology Practice.
“For a third year in a row, all eight of our dialysis units received the 5-Diamond Patient Safety
Award from the Mid-Atlantic Renal Coalition,” Okusa said. “The UVA-Centra partnership in the provision of dialysis will continue its long standing tradition of excellence in dialysis care.”
The facility in Farmville will open in late June of this year, whereas the facility in Appomattox will open at an undisclosed time in late summer.
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