Niagara Health is proud to be recognized as a high performer in the province for wait times for vascular access surgery for dialysis patients, a key procedure that enables patients to start dialysis and provide intervention if needed during the course of their treatment.
The Ontario Renal Network this week recognized Niagara Health’s work in providing patients with excellent kidney care and ensuring timely vascular access surgery. The network recognizes NH’s performance to provide timely vascular access surgery within the target wait time. Niagara Health’s efforts saw the number of cases completed within the target wait time grow by 82.3% in fiscal 2018/19 (April 2018 to March 2019).
"Many of our complex vascular patients used to have to travel to Hamilton for this care, and we are very proud of our team’s work over the last several years to build this expertise locally," says Derek McNally, Executive Vice President Clinical Services and Chief Nursing Executive. "Many thanks to our vascular surgeons, interventional radiologists and kidney care team for their efforts to enhance patient experiences by providing timely access to vascular access surgery closer to home."
The Ontario Renal Network assesses regional renal programs using both regional and facility-level data to monitor progress towards multiple performance indicators and recognize top performers. These indicators encompass topics such as home dialysis prevalence and vascular access surgery wait times, along with other high-priority metrics.
"Niagara Health demonstrated a significant improvement with the vascular access wait time performance indicator over the 2018/19 fiscal year," says Rebecca Harvey, Vice President, Ontario Renal Network. "The ORN recognizes the considerable amount of effort put in by the program staff to ensure patients are consistently receiving access to surgery in a timely fashion."
A vascular access is a surgically created vein used to remove and return blood during hemodialysis. Niagara Health’s Kidney Care Program, in partnership with St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, offers education, support and intervention for patients living with kidney disease The Niagara region has three Kidney Care sites, in Niagara Falls, St. Catharines and Welland.
