hemodialysis, dialysis, peritoneal dialysis

I think the Hemodialysis Unit is going to be my favorite medical unit on the island. The employees are fantastic, friendly, and very helpful people. They gave us a complete tour of the dialysis unit and answered all our questions. And one of the nurses was so kind as to identify each of the employees in the photos we took. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with them and I think they did too.

I have quite a few photos I will be posting of the dialysis unit, but my favorite is of the little boy I used to start this page with. This little boy, whose name is Ramon, was born with kidney problems, and has been on peritoneal dialysis all 9 years of his life. I have to admit that I did not know much about either kind of dialysis, since most of my nursing days were spent in a Burn Center.

Anyway, back to Ramon...most of the peritoneal dialysis patients are able to do in-home dialysis treatments. But for some reason Ramon's family is not able to do this for him, so he comes here for his treatments.

When we came to the room used for this type of dialysis, and Ramon spotted us, his face lit up in a huge smile. But before we could capture that smile in a photo he went back to eating and watching tv. He was watching cartoons and eating a huge stuffed arepa, which is a common food here, and one of MY favorites. There was also an elderly lady in the room having the same treatment.

Luis Ortega Free hospital in Porlamar located on 4 de Mayo	Hemodialysis Unit Front Entrance - Back side of hospital	Dialysis Unit Sign to left of front entrance	Consultation Rooms Left - Consult 1 Right- Cardiovascular Surgery Consult 2	Consult Room 3 Clinical Psychologist and Nutritionist
Nurse Jaime and Isabel - Clinical Psychologist	Surgery Room where dialysis cannulas are inserted	Filtration Room where ALL water in dialysis facility is filtered	General Dialysis entrance to negative Hepatitis B room	General Dialysis This is approx. 1/2 of the total room capacity
General Dialysis Other 1/2 and capacity approx. 25 patients ~~~~ Nurses Station	Dialysis Positive small room for Hep B and C patients ~~~~ Maria - Head Nurse Dr. Jose	Staff Left to right nurses: Jaime, Maira and Maria; Health Information: Yenny Gomez ~~~~ Social Worker - Noema	Dialysis Monitor Dializing Unit click photo to enlarge	Unit for home care Peritoneal Dialysis Machine
Until about two years ago the Dialysis Unit was located inside the Luis Ortega Hospital next door. Luis Ortega Hospital and the Dialysis Unit are public facilities and therefore are free services to any and all who need them. Jaime and his co-workers gave us a great tour of the facilities and told us that he, Maira and Maria have 22 and 25 years working there. He also said the unit has had patients from as far away as Miami and Puerto Rico, but that most of their patients are those who live on the island or the mainland. And that this unit is the largest, and most up to date, of it's kind in Venezuela. Also, we met one person working here who speaks some English. I hope you never need their services, but if you do, I think you will be happy with their care of you.