Kidney dialysis center will be built in Sioux County

A kidney dialysis center will be built in Sioux County through a partnership of Sioux Valley Hospitals & Health System of Sioux Falls, Northwest Iowa Health Center in Sheldon and Orange City Health System.

The center will serve patients from northwest Iowa who need kidney dialysis, according to a press release from Sioux Vally. The process requires several treatments per week for each patient, requiring many trips by the patient and family or friends.

Plans of the Sioux County group are to build a dialysis center that will serve up to six patients at one time with a capacity to expand and serve eight patients. The building location has yet to be determined, although a location near Sheldon or Orange City is under discussion.

"The facility will be designed to serve the special needs of the dialysis patient and their families," said Barry J. Lankhorst, M.D., Sioux Valley Clinic nephrologist, who will serve as the medical director of the new dialysis center. "We will purchase the most advanced medical equipment available today and will provide specially trained registered nurse staff that are highly skilled in dialysis patient care. A nutritionist and social worker professional will also be an integral part of the care treatment team."

More staff will be added when the six-station capacity is reached, according to Marty Guthmiller, chief executive officer of Orange City Health System.

"We hope to hire as many from our local area as possible," said Guthmiller.

"Our purpose in coming together to provide dialysis was not only to care for our own patients, but to have a place available for everyone in the area who is in need of dialysis," said Chip Miller, CEO, Northwest Iowa Health Center in Sheldon. "Minimal travel and care received where friends and relatives are close is tantamount to the best treatment plan and positive patient outcomes."

"Together we are responding to the needs of many in our area who have approached us asking us to provide a local option for their dialysis care," said Guthmiller. "We are pleased to add this service in our area to meet the needs of the communities we serve."

The site will also have the capacity for telemedicine, which allows a provider in Sioux Falls to see and interact with a patient and the clinical staff at the dialysis center through a television screen.

Funding for the facility will come from each of the three participating centers. Plans are for construction to begin in spring 2005 with completion in early fall 2005.

Both Northwest Iowa Health Center and Orange City Health System are members of Sioux Valley Hospitals & Health System.

Asked for his response to the Sioux County announcement, Mike Donlin, administrator of Floyd Valley Hospital, said, "Time will tell if this new dialysis center will be used by patients who live in our area. It may be convenient for some. The Hospers location -- if that ends up being the site -- is a few miles further from Le Mars than the Leeds dialysis center near Sioux City."

Floyd Valley was in the process of updating a 2001 analysis of dialysis needs in the area.

"This development will have to be factored into that analysis," said Donlin. "While we wish our neighbors to the north well in their endeavor to serve their communities, we at Floyd Valley Hospital will continue to look for opportunities to serve the health care needs in our area."