Dialysis wheels into Lac La Biche

Alvina Berland won’t miss spending nine hours every week on the highway between St. Paul and her Lac La Biche home.

The 66-year-old is now able to get her thrice-weekly renal treatments without leaving her community thanks to improved access provided by one of two mobile dialysis buses operated by Alberta Health Services (AHS). 

“The commute was getting tiresome, so I am happy dialysis services are now nearby,” says Berland. “I was thinking of moving but now that the dialysis treatment is in Lac La Biche, I get to stay home, which is great.”

The mobile dialysis bus visits Lac La Biche Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. It is equipped with six renal dialysis stations, as well as Telehealth videoconferencing equipment that links patients with a physician, nurse, social worker and/or dietitians in Edmonton. The bus is located next to the hamlet’s health care centre, with necessary hook-ups to the facility.

Two nurses with the Northern Alberta Renal Program provide dialysis treatment and a nephrologist (kidney specialist) oversees patient care.

Previously, patients with chronic kidney disease in Lac La Biche would need to travel to St. Paul (1.5 hours away) or Edmonton (three hours away) for dialysis treatment, which helps failing kidneys clean the blood of excess electrolytes and waste products.

Patients typically require three, four-hour dialysis treatments every week.

“The arrival of the renal dialysis bus in this community will make a significant difference in the lives of people here who have previously had to travel to Edmonton or St. Paul to receive treatment,” says Ken Hughes, Alberta Health Services Board Chair.

“This is the kind of innovative, made-in-Alberta solution that will enable us to provide better access to high quality health care for patients in rural areas.”

“This renal dialysis bus will have a major impact on Lac La Biche and its nearby communities,” adds Ray Danyluk, MLA for Lac La Biche – St. Paul and the Minister of Alberta Infrastructure.

“Instead of having to travel great distances for treatment, patients will be able to receive care in a comfortable space right here near the local hospital.”

Alberta Health Services introduced its first renal dialysis bus in 2008, which continues to serve residents of Whitecourt and Hinton.