Kapolei dialysis center to open in June
By James Gonser
Advertiser Leeward Bureau
KAPOLEI — Fresenius Medical Care of North America will open its newest dialysis center June 5 in Kapolei, further expanding the range of medical services available in O'ahu's fast-growing "second city."
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser
The $2 million FMC Dialysis Services of Kapolei will focus on kidney disease patients from Central and Leeward O'ahu.
Clinic manager Boni Morales says kidney patients living in West O'ahu will benefit from the latest technology at the dialysis center that will open in Kapolei. The center has 24 stations for patients who will stay three to four hours hooked to a machine to purify their blood. There will be a television for each patient to watch during treatment.
Clinic manager Boni Morales is a registered nurse and has been working in dialysis since 1982. He has been in dialysis management for 15 years.
"For a patient living on this side of the island, the location will be convenient and they will benefit from the latest technology," Morales said. "We are excited to offer this to the kidney-patient population."
The company is the largest provider of renal dialysis products and services in the country, with more than 75,000 patients and 1,000 facilities, Morales said. The Kapolei facility will be the company's fifth in Hawai'i.
"It's exciting to add Fresenius to the growing number of global companies doing business in Kapolei," said Donna Goth, Campbell Estate's director for Hawai'i properties. "Along with the services currently available at the Kapolei Medical Park and elsewhere in Kapolei, Fresenius improves the quality and accessibility of health care for everyone in West O'ahu."
Morales said the Kapolei location makes sense with its growing population and the lack of facilities near 'Ewa Beach and Wai'anae.
According to the National Kidney Foundation of Hawai'i, there are 1,568 patients on kidney dialysis in the state, including 553 whose kidneys failed last year. Kidney failure in Hawai'i is 30 percent above the national average and is especially high among Native Hawaiians, Japanese and Filipinos. Diabetes is a major cause of kidney disease.
Three times a week, kidney disease patients must sit for several hours while hooked up to a dialysis machine to have their blood cleaned.
The new Kapolei center will have 24 dialysis stations in the 8,500-square-foot facility and employ about 20 people, including nurses and technicians. The center will be open from 6 a.m. to about 11 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
Morales said state-of-the-art technology will be used throughout the facility, including the latest dialysis machines and an ultra-pure filtration system.
Kapolei Medical Park, the 50,000-square-foot home to four major health care provider groups and a pharmacy, opened last year.
