WINONA, Minn. – Caught in a financial squeeze, Winona Heath is closing its money-losing kidney dialysis program. Rachelle Schultz, Winona Health’s executive director, notified 32 patients that their three-times-a week appointments will not be booked after the end of February. Dialysis treatments involve draining, cleansing and restoring blood for patients whose own kidneys have failed. Each visit is a three-hour process. It’s a treatment essential for survival. Schultz said that some patients might consider recently developed home treatments or going to dialysis centers 40 miles away at Mayo Clinic in Rochester or at Gundersen or Mayo in LaCrosse. Schultz said that Winona Health lost $1 million last year on dialysis. “There was no way to fully mitigate that loss,” she said. “As we look into the future, we just can’t continue to absorb a loss like this.” She noted that the Winona Health dialysis unit held a premier five-star regional rating. Employees in the unit are being transferred to other Winona Health departments, Schutz said.
Verbatim
Schultz: “Through months of investigating options I held out hope we could find a way to ensure patients would be able to continue with dialysis locally. But the financial reality didn’t change. The solution is that patients are able to make a transition and continue receiving dialysis care, and that is the next best outcome.”
Schultz. Executive director at Winona Health since 2002. Holds doctorate n leadership from Creighton. Earlier degrees in health administration and economics
The process, the experience. Dialysis filters toxins that functionig kidneys normally remove from blood. Appointments are three hours three times a week.
