New facility for COVID-positive dialysis patients opens in NKTI

MANILA, Philippines — A hemodialysis facility for COVID-positive patients that can accommodate up to 60 patients daily opened Wednesday at the National Kidney Transplant Institute (NKTI) compound in Quezon City.

The off-site hemodialysis facility has 20 dialysis stations that operate on three sessions per day.

Before the facility was constructed, NKTI’s Executive Director Dr. Rose Marie Rosete-Liquete said their patients underwent dialysis in tents.

“Yung patients namin na nagdidialysis nasa tent, you can imagine those machines nasa tent. Noong umulan dahil sa bagyo, kailangan i-stop ang mga dialysis kasi nababasa na ng tubig. With the heat of the sun and the bagyo, nasira yung mga tents namin,” Rosete-Liquete said during the turnover ceremony of the facility.

(Our patients who undergo dialysis in tents, you can imagine those machines in tents. When it rained because of the typhoon, we had to stop the dialysis because it got wet with the rain. With the heat of the sun and the typhoon, our tents were destroyed.)

NKTI dormitory. Images courtesy of DPWH

“This facility is already a dream come true for NKTI. Now that there is another COVID surge, we have the patients to come here and not in the tents anymore,” she added.

Apart from the hemodialysis facility, an off-site modular dormitory with 16 rooms was also constructed at the NKTI compound which can provide shelter for its health workers.

The turnover ceremony was led by the government’s task force against COVID-19 officials Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr., testing czar Vince Dizon and presidential spokesperson Harry Roque.

EDV