Funding announced for dialysis capacity increase, ventilation system upgrades at PLC

Kidney disease patient capacity will nearly double at the Peter Lougheed Centre in Calgary over the next few years.

As part of an infrastructure upgrade announcement Friday, the Alberta government committed $1.35 million to expand hemodialysis capacity at the hospital, with the Calgary Health Foundation donating an additional $1.37 million.

That means the PLC’s kidney care unit will expand from 10 stations to 19. Two of those new stations were brought online last year.

The hospital mainly supports patients living in the city’s northeast and surrounding communities. Most need three treatments every week, each lasting four hours.

“With the rising demand for hemodialysis in Calgary’s northeast, this investment is important in ensuring the best care is available at the Peter Lougheed Centre,” said Mike Meldrum, president and CEO of the Calgary Health Foundation. “Requiring hemodialysis is disruptive and time-consuming for patients living with kidney disease.”

The government also provided AHS with an additional $2.7 million to improve the air handling and ventilation systems in Peter Lougheed Centre’s operating rooms.

These upgrades are aimed at improving patient and staff safety by reducing the risk of airborne pathogens and reducing the risk of infection in surgical suites.