Life-saving Newport dialysis center at risk of closure 

NEWPORT –– The fate of the Newport dialysis clinic remains uncertain, with the University of Vermont Health Network announcing it is facing budget cuts and hopes to transfer management and staffing of the center to another entity.

In the best-case scenario, the Ron Holland M.D. Community Dialysis Center, located at the North Country Medical Center but operated by UVMHN, could be taken over by another health care provider. North Country Hospital officials are in early talks with the Network about options, according to a release.

In the worst case, which all parties are working to avoid, the clinic could close, forcing regional patients to travel to the closest clinic currently accepting new patients in Manchester, New Hampshire.

“This is life-sustaining treatment,” said Sandy Hoffman, a registered nurse and renal nurse supervisor at the Newport clinic. “If patients can’t get dialysis they will die.”

University of Vermont Health Network officials said they are forced to take steps to reduce spending by the Green Mountain Care Board, which essentially regulates hospital budgets.

“Here at University of Vermont Health Network, we find ourselves in a difficult situation,” UVMHC President and CEO Sunny Eappen recently said in a letter to patients. Eappen listed likely reductions, including shortening overnight stays and eliminating surgical renal transplants at the University of Vermont Medical Center, and cutting $18 million in administrative expenses.

In addition, he wrote, the plan includes ending “staffing and operation of kidney dialysis clinics outside of our primary service areas in Vermont, impacting approximately 115 patients across three clinics.”  The dialysis centers in Rutland and St. Albans are also on the list.

Hoffman said there are currently 22 patients at the Newport clinic whose kidneys are failing. They come from throughout the region, including the city and Newport Center, Morgan, Troy, Lowell, Charleston and Albany. She said there is a shortage of dialysis beds across the state, with people waiting months for treatment.

Dialysis treatment essentially involves hooking a patient to a machine that removes the blood, cleans it, and returns it to the patient’s body. The procedure takes about four hours, and patients come in three times a week for treatment, Hoffman said.

She said about 11 jobs are on the line if the clinic closes, including nurses, social workers, dieticians, technicians and others. Many of the patients are elderly, low income and lack transportation to travel hours for care. Keeping the Newport clinic open is imperative, she said.

“They are targeting the most vulnerable patients in the health care system,” Hoffman said. “UVM is seeking a new provider to take over the management. They are not looking to close it.”

She added that there are no immediate changes planned for patient care. However, the uncertainty and potential for closing has staff and patients “scared.”

“It’s a big ask to have somebody take it over,” she said. “We will kill people if we close.”