RICHMOND HEIGHTS, MO — No one appreciates the difference between a good day and a bad one as sharply as a kidney dialysis patient. Three times a week, individuals who have suffered kidney failure must undergo artificial filtering and cleansing of their blood, otherwise they will feel tired, nauseated, weak and confused.
In an effort to provide much needed care and a better quality of life for renal patients on dialysis, the Vascular Access Center at SSM St. Mary’s Health Center will open July 14 in Suite 14 of the Medical Office Building at 1027 Bellevue Avenue. This outpatient center will be operated under the leadership of interventional nephrologist Dr. Alejandro Alvarez. The center will provide continuous support and care for the patients receiving hemodialysis in area dialysis centers.
Dialysis is a procedure that cleanses a patient’s blood of toxins via two modalities – hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. The blood is removed for cleansing through a dialyzer machine and returned back to the body.
Dialysis requires reliable and repeated access to the blood stream through a surgically created vascular access. Problems with these surgically created openings are the most common source for a dialysis patient’s hospitalization.
“The Vascular Access Center at SSM St. Mary’s will provide full-time, proactive dialysis access-care for renal patients,” said Dr. Alvarez. “This Center will work in partnership with the patient’s primary clinical nephrologist, vascular access surgeon and dialysis-center coordinator to create a multidisciplinary team that optimizes the patient’s vascular and peritoneal dialysis access. This ensures the renal patients we help will have a healthy and uninterrupted dialysis schedule.”
The Vascular Access Center will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday for same-day, next day and follow-up care. To assist dialysis patients with accessing the Center, SSM St. Mary’s reconfigured the entrance sidewalk to include a handicap friendly door-front, drop-off area for vehicles. Patients can make an appointment by calling (314) 768-8475.
About SSM St. Mary’s Health Center
SSM St. Mary's Health Center is a two-time winner of the prestigious Premier Award for Quality. Centrally located in metro St. Louis, SSM St. Mary's is a contemporary, 525-bed hospital with distinctive capabilities in high-risk obstetrical services, fetal surgery, state-of-the-art heart surgery, a chest pain center, advanced stroke care, and the latest imaging and outpatient services. Also a teaching hospital, SSM St. Mary’s is the headquarters for St. Louis University School of Medicine's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and offers an accredited internal medicine program. SSM St. Mary’s more than 2,100 employees and 800 physicians are devoted to achieving the best care and best results for our patients.
For more information, contact:
Stacey L. Rynders
Communications Specialist
SSM St. Mary's Health Center
314-768-8801 (office)
314-306-7866 (cell)
314-908-0688 (pager)
Stacey_L_Rynders@ssmhc.com