Miami Valley Hospital Dedicating Kidney Treatment Center Today

By Anthony Gottschlich, Dayton Daily News, Ohio

Feb. 1–DAYTON — Miami Valley Hospital will dedicate its new Transplant Center and Kidney Dialysis Unit today, a $2 million operation that will consolidate all kidney services in one location.

The unit is designed to meet the growing number of patients the hospital expects to treat for acute and chronic kidney disease due to obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure, said Dr. Raj Dhingra, the hospital’s medical director for dialysis services.

“We are preparing for the future,” Dhingra said.

The National Kidney Foundation reports that 20 million Americans, or one in nine adults, suffer chronic kidney disease and another 20 million Americans are at risk.

Miami Valley is the largest hospital-based provider of dialysis services in the area and the region’s only organ transplant center. The hospital was the site of the first kidney transplant in Dayton nearly 40 years ago, officials said.

Nearly 800 kidney transplants have been performed at the hospital since then, according to Dr. Ken Rundell, Surgical Director of Transplant Surgery.

The dialysis unit features soft colors, wood trim and nine treatment stations, each with a recliner and flat screen television. A broad span of glass provides natural light and a view of the Dayton skyline.

—–

To see more of the Dayton Daily News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.daytondailynews.com.

Copyright (c) 2007, Dayton Daily News, Ohio

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.