HONESDALE, PA — When Charles “Chuck” Detore was admitted to Wayne Memorial Hospital, he did not have to be transferred to another facility to receive dialysis.
“It was great, because I’m from Honesdale and it would be a hardship for my wife to have to travel to visit me if I was in Scranton or Wilkes Barre,” said Detore, “especially if the weather was bad.” Detore was hospitalized for an unrelated condition—a broken leg—but his kidney disease requires dialysis three times a week.
“Wayne Memorial sees many patients like Mr. Detore, who come to us for a condition we can easily treat—but up until now have had to transfer out because they also had end stage renal disease and required life-saving dialysis,” said Wayne Memorial CEO James Pettinato.
Dialysis is a process that removes waste products and excess fluid from the blood when the kidneys are not working properly. It often involves diverting blood to a machine to be cleaned. Wayne Memorial began offering the new service on a limited basis in its inpatient rehabilitation facility in 2022, shortly after the arrival of board-certified nephrologist Cyraicus Anaele, M.D. Last October, Wayne Memorial took over the service from a third-party vendor and began offering it to all its hospitalized patients who needed it. Dialysis technician Susan Herbert, CCHT and longtime dialysis nurse Cindy Houser, R.N. were hired for the program.
“The dialysis is done bedside,” said Houser, the nephrology care coordinator. “And patients love it. They say it really feels like one-on-one care.”
Houser has more than 30 years of experience in the fields of geriatrics and dialysis, including managing Davita Dialysis Centers in Honesdale and Milford. “I worked for an organization that provided dialysis to Wayne Memorial in the 1990s, but it was a portable dialysis unit,” she said. “Today’s dialysis equipment is much more advanced and better for the patient. In addition, I enjoy starting up programs like this. This was more than a good fit for me; it’s very satisfying to be able to help patients stay near their loved ones.”
Wayne Memorial currently has three dialysis machines and 10 patient rooms that accommodate the procedure.
“I’m really happy my hometown hospital has dialysis now,” said Detore, “it makes things a lot simpler—when that’s what you need.”