Staff-assisted home hemodialysis
What is staff-assisted home hemodialysis?
A licensed dialysis nurse comes to your home and performs your hemodialysis treatment for you. You do not place your own needles. You do not run the machine. No family member has to be trained to help.
First, what hemodialysis is
Hemodialysis filters waste and extra fluid from your blood when your kidneys no longer can. A machine does the filtering while you rest.
The part that makes this different
Most home hemodialysis programs train you, or a family member, to run the treatment yourselves. Staff-assisted home hemodialysis is different. Our licensed dialysis nurse does the work at every visit. This is the service people mean when they look for a nurse who comes to your home for dialysis.
| At each treatment | Ordinary home hemodialysis | Staff-assisted home hemodialysis |
|---|---|---|
| Who places the needles | You, or a trained family member | The licensed dialysis nurse |
| Who runs the machine | You, or a trained family member | The licensed dialysis nurse |
| Who watches the treatment | You, or a trained family member | The licensed dialysis nurse, who stays the whole time |
| What you have to learn | How to do the full treatment yourself | Nothing. There is no training to complete. |
| Is a trained family care partner required? | Often, yes | No |
What the nurse does at every visit
The same kind of work happens at every treatment, done by a licensed, background-checked dialysis nurse in your home.
- Sets out the supplies your treatment needs
- Checks your vital signs, such as blood pressure and temperature
- Sets up the machine
- Places the needles, which is called cannulation
- Stays with you and monitors the entire treatment
- Ends the treatment and removes the needles
- Cleans up the treatment area
- Records the visit for your care team
What you do
Your part is small.
- Rest at home during the treatment
- Keep a small space for the machine and supplies
- Follow the plan your kidney doctor (nephrologist) sets
To see how treatment begins, from your first call to your first visit, read how it works.
What this is not
- It is not a training program. We do not teach you to run your own treatments. Our nurses do the treatment.
- It is not a service where a family member must become your trained care partner.
- It is not a clinic you travel to. Treatment happens in your home, so there is no traveling to a dialysis center.
If this sounds like what you need, read who it is for or see what insurance covers.