The Peritoneal Dialysis Assist (PDA) program is now set for province-wide implementation following the selection of Nurse Next Door as the service provider.

PDA is a home support service that uses trained caregivers to provide daily home visits to help PD patients with specific non-nursing tasks related to continuous cycling peritoneal dialysis (CCPD). The program includes both respite and long-term assistance options and is primarily focused on elderly or disabled patients who need help to maintain their PD care.
 

The PROMIS team appreciates the user community’s support during the recent technical upgrade of the PROMIS platform. This was a major project and enables a number of key system improvements.

Monthly training webinars for Kidney Care Clinic staff started last fall have been well received, with 20-30 participants attending per session. Ratings for the sessions indicate participants are very satisfied with the content and format of the presentation.
 

Hemodialysis (HD) units are encouraged to provide patients beginning HD treatment with the information booklet recently produced by the Provincial Hemodialysis Committee. The booklet welcomes new patients and provides an orientation to their treatment requirements. The booklet is available as an online resource from the BC Renal Agency’s website.

The Renal Agency’s Palliative Care Committee (PCC) has developed a Palliative Care Indicator Report to guide planning and quality improvement in palliative and end-of-life (EOL) care for people in BC with kidney disease.
 

Since its initial phased implementation in September 2015, the provincial TB Screening program has now screened 387 patients starting dialysis and has identified 75 cases of latent tuberculosis. This corresponds closely to the percentage of TB carriers among new dialysis patients the program was expected to find.