ARC Kidney Care and Dialysis Center opens in Oro

PATIENTS with kidney failure living in the western area of Cagayan de Oro City will soon have a closer means to obtain their needed health care as a dialysis center is set to open this week along Kauswagan Highway.

The ARC Kidney Care and Dialysis Center, a dialysis provider to care for patients with acute and chronic kidney failure, established its branch in Cagayan de Oro City along Kauswagan Highway, in front of the Savemore Kauswagan branch.

The said branch was blessed and inaugurated last Sunday, December 2, and is expected to start its operations this week.

“What we're trying to do now is put it in very convenient areas. So this is along the highway. Hopefully, it helps people coming from the western side of Cagayan de Oro to not go anymore into the city, at least save time, traffic, all of that, the hassle of going inside,” Allan Jason Bautista, president of the ARC Kidney Care and Dialysis Center, said.

The kidney care and dialysis center aims to provide quality patient care through its well-trained nurses, doctors and staff. The center also uses the latest technology facilities like brand new Fresenius Medical Care brand dialysis machines.

The center is also aligned with the government's PhilHealth program which covers the 90 sessions per year for hemodialysis of its members.

“We really just wanna put it at very affordable prices. We're not gonna destroy any price, we're just get it at the right level. But what we wanna do is offer a much, much better facility,” Bautista said.

“So, for the same price, we'll give you brand new Fresenius machines and all the amenities even for companions,” he added.

The treatment room is comprised of recliner chairs, each with brand new Fresenius Medical Care dialysis machine; flat television screens for the patients' entertainment, and the nurse's station located at the center of the room.

This is designed for the nurses to easily attend to the patient's needs and also for the latter to feel safe and secure that someone is always nearby to provide them with patient care.

“We provide real patient care for all those who need it. Yun yung basic principle na we really want to follow. We just want to really give the best patient care that we can,” Bautista said.

“At the end of the day, it’s the patient care,” he added.

Bautista mentioned that the head of the operations of the center is their head nurse, which means patient care comes first.

“The head nurse is not just the head nurse by name, talagang dapat certified nurse, registered nurse. Talaga ang training nya, ang background, is really a nurse. Hindi siya boss ng nurse,” Bautista said.

The ARC president also assures that the ARC Kidney Care and Dialysis Center follows what was mandated on the Technical Guidelines for Hospitals and Health Facilities Planning and Design of Department of Health (DOH), and even went beyond the DOH standard through its improved facilities such as the nurse's stations inside the treatment room, the processing room, and the reverse osmosis water treatment room.

Each dialysis machine also has its own uninterruptible power supply (UPS) that provides emergency power in case of power interruptions, which often occur in the city.

The facility also has its brand new generator, placed outside the center, which can provide the power needed by every equipment and appliances in the facility.

According to Bautista, a person with kidney failure needs two sessions of dialysis per week and each session will take 4 hours.

With this in mind, the ARC Kidney Care and Dialysis Center not only delivers comfort to its patients but also convenience to their patients' companions who are tasked to wait outside the treatment room for 4 hours.

The center offers amenities for the patients' companions, which include: lockers where they can leave their things while waiting for the treatment to end; a clean and spacious bathroom; fast Wi-Fi connection so that they won't get bored waiting; television; and outlets where the companions can charge their mobile phones and other gadgets.

Bautista also shared their plan to open another branch in the Bugo area to cover the patients in the eastern part of the city and those living in the Bukidnon areas.