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Mercy, Sisters of Charity Hospitals introduce 'revolutionary technology' to enhance dialysis care

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Tue, Sep 21st 2021 07:00 pm

Mercy Hospital of Buffalo and Sisters of Charity Hospital have become the first hospitals in Western New York to offer what they called “next-generation technology” for dialysis care called the Tablo Hemodialysis System. The changeover to the new dialysis program within Catholic Health is aimed at improving the patient experience, while reducing the cost and complexity historically associated with dialysis treatment.

More than one in seven people in America, or 15% of the U.S. population, are estimated to have chronic kidney disease (CRD), in which the kidneys have difficulty filtering waste and excess fluid from the blood. If the disease progresses to kidney failure, patients require dialysis or a kidney transplant to survive.

A press release stated, “Otherwise known as renal replacement therapy (RRT), dialysis be an expensive and cumbersome treatment. In the U.S., nearly 85 million dialysis treatments are performed annually, costing more than $70 billion. The introduction of new technology and care models like the Tablo Hemodialysis System, with its single-machine, ease-of-use functionality, and ability to convert to other settings, is helping to control costs and transform dialysis care at Catholic Health and throughout the country.”

Christina Tobin, vice president of operations at Mercy Hospital, served as the clinical lead for the development of the Tablo dialysis program at Catholic Health. She said, “Tablo’s all-in-one system offers significant benefits, improving comfort and convenience for patients while offering a safer, more streamlined dialysis process for nurses and other caregivers. The portability and ease of use of Tablo has enabled us to deliver treatment anywhere within our facility, giving us more options to better serve our patients.”

The Tablo system, which is about the size of a small dorm refrigerator, is creating new efficiencies for Catholic Health and will be expanded to Kenmore Mercy Hospital, Mount St. Mary’s Hospital and St. Joseph Campus in the coming months.

“With a growing demand for dialysis within our system, Tablo provided us an opportunity to reduce costs by replacing multiple machines with one compact device, while still maintaining high quality care for our patients who need this specialized service,” said Joyce Markiewicz, executive vice president and chief business development officer for Catholic Health. “The more options we can offer our community, the better – especially in the midst of COVID-19, which has led to an influx of patients experiencing kidney failure. The features and capabilities of this new technology creates a safer and more efficient patient and caregiver experience.”

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