MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release:
March 29, 2011
LHSC announces establishment of an off-site Kidney Care Centre
LONDON, Ontario – London Health Sciences Centre has signed the lease on a new off-site Kidney Care Centre for dialysis patients, to be located within Westmount Shopping Centre.
The LHSC Kidney Care Centre is expected to open in late spring 2012 and will serve 1,200 patients/year in the surrounding community and the broader Southwestern Ontario region. Dialysis is a treatment that replaces the function of the kidneys when the kidneys have stopped working.
“The creation of an off-site Kidney Care Centre offers all components of renal dialysis care in one space for our patients” says Neil Johnson, Integrated Vice President, Medicine Services, LHSC. “The large clinic space available at Westmount will offer an education centre for patients as well as a training centre for medical staff and regional support centre staff.”
The confirmed location was chosen by a review team comprised of facilities planning/construction and renal clinical leaders, after a thorough RFP process, based on highest overall ranking of submitted locations in terms of: space quality, amenities, growth potential and adjunct services that will benefit this patient population i.e. bus routes, disability access, location, services and patient needs.
“The off-hospital site renal dialysis satellite clinic that will enable the remaining renal services at South Street Hospital and Baseline Road to move, while at the same time providing much needed additional hemodialysis capacity required to meet growing patient demand in the region,” says Dave Crockett, Integrated Vice President, Facilities Management.
The new 32,000 square foot Kidney Care Centre will be located on the upper level of the shopping centre. Construction on the new space is anticipated to begin later this spring.
About London Health Sciences Centre
London Health Sciences Centre has been in the forefront of medicine in Canada for 135 years and offers the broadest range of specialized clinical services in Ontario. Building on the traditions of its founding hospitals to provide compassionate care in an academic teaching setting, London Health Sciences Centre is home to Children’s Hospital, South Street Hospital, University Hospital, Victoria Hospital, two family medical centres, and two research institutes – Children’s Health Research Institute and Lawson Health Research Institute, a joint research initiative with St. Joseph’s Health Care, London. As a leader in medical discovery and health research, London Health Sciences Centre has a history of over 50 international and national firsts and attracts top clinicians and researchers from around the world. As a regional referral centre, London Health Sciences Centre cares for the most medically complex patients including critically injured adults and children in Southwestern Ontario and beyond. The hospital’s nearly 15,000 staff, physicians, students and volunteers provide care for more than one million patient visits a year. For more information visit www.lhsc.on.ca
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For media inquiries contact:
Sarah Muto
Corporate Communications and Public Relations
London Health Sciences Centre
519-685-8500, ext. 77062
sarah.muto@lhsc.on.ca
After hours:
Call LHSC Switchboard at 519-685-8500 and ask to page the communication consultant on-call
