VANCOUVER -- Northern and central Vancouver Island residents coping with kidney disease won't have to travel quite as far for treatment.
A new kidney care clinic has opened at North Island Hospital in Campbell River, sparing many patients the lengthy drive south to Nanaimo.
"The people in Nanaimo are wonderful, but it’s that much farther to travel," said Comox Valley resident Walter Podovsky in a news release Wednesday.
"It will be great to have the clinic in Campbell River. I’m sure it will be well used."
The clinic assists patients who don't require dialysis or post-transplant care but can benefit from a newly designated team of nurses, along with a dietitian, social worker and pharmacy technician.
In making the announcement, the province says kidney specialists, called nephrologists, will attend the clinic every week while visiting clinics staffed by doctors from Nanaimo, will continue to be held in the Comox Valley, about 45 minutes further south.
"By reducing the burden of travel for patients on the North Island, we’re helping them be empowered with their health to address the challenges of living with kidney disease," said B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix in a statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 11, 2020.
