CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital – Kleberg now offers life-saving dialysis treatment for community

CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital – Kleberg is proud to announce it is home to the first and only inpatient dialysis program in the Kingsville community, providing life-saving treatment for patients close to home.

“Our ability to provide this treatment in our community is remarkable,” said Dr. Sridevi Konkimalla, nephrologist with CHRISTUS Spohn Health System. “Oftentimes, patients undergo dialysis treatment for a lengthy period, several times a week. Now, our patients won’t have to go far from home to get the care they need.”

Dialysis is a treatment removing wastes and extra fluid from a patient’s blood when their kidneys are no longer able to do so effectively. Kidney failure can occur suddenly or if a patient is experiencing chronic kidney disease.

According to the National Kidney Foundation, about 550,000 people in the U.S. receive some form of dialysis and 360 people begin dialysis every 24 hours.

“If a patient’s kidneys are permanently damaged, they would require dialysis for a lifetime,” Konkimalla said. “Unfortunately, many times people don’t know they have kidney disease until it’s advanced, meaning they experienced no symptoms or felt ill.”

Some symptoms of kidney disease can include:

• Changes in urine
• Swelling in hands, feet, ankles, legs or face
• Fatigue
• Dry, itchy or darkening of your skin
• Shortness of breath
• Metallic taste in your mouth
• High blood pressure
• Difficulty sleeping

The dialysis suite at CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital - Kleberg is now available for patients admitted and needing treatment. So far, more than 35 treatments have been administered in the new space.

King Ranch Family Trust was so gracious in their donations to help bring the dialysis suite to life. Their donation of over $100,000 helped to fund two dialysis recliners and two Tablo Hemodialysis Systems.

“We are so incredibly grateful to King Ranch Family Trust,” said Richard Morin, president of CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital – Kleberg. “With their help, we can offer this dialysis program for our patients in Kingsville and surrounding communities. We will continue to invest in our patients and in their health care. Our patients can rest assured that they will receive compassionate care close to home without having to travel miles to another city.”