Schneider Hospital opens expanded dialysis unit

ST. THOMAS — Schneider Hospital opened an expanded hemodialysis unit Wednesday, which will provide access to care for Virgin Islanders and visitors suffering from kidney disease.

“Hemodialysis is a life-sustaining treatment that approximately 130 persons in the St. Thomas-St. John district need,” said Schneider Regional Medical Center CEO Tina Comissiong. The hospital currently provides treatment to 75 patients, and the expanded unit with 12 additional stations will enable the hospital to accommodate another 60, Comissiong said.

Patients typically receive hemodialysis three times a week for an average of four hours a session, “so this expansion almost doubles our capacity,” and eliminates the current waiting list. “Before this expansion, these patients in our district had to either go to the other on-island facility, or go off island for their care when we were at full capacity. This expansion also allows us to accept Virgin Islanders who live off-island, who need dialysis when they want to come home,” Comissiong said.