What to Expect at Your First Appointment with the Dialysis Unit
When your child needs dialysis, we become your long-term partner in their kidney care as well as their overall health. That means you can count on our team to make sure you’re comfortable at every step of the way.
With every appointment, you’ll receive the same compassionate care and attention to detail. Learn more about what to expect at your appointment with our expert dialysis team.
Making an Appointment
Scheduling an appointment with us is not like making a regular doctor’s appointment. The exact process depends on whether your child needs hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis.
If your child needs hemodialysis, our nurse manager creates a treatment calendar that includes three to five appointments each week.
For children on home peritoneal dialysis, our peritoneal dialysis nurse will schedule your first monthly checkup appointment. Before your child starts peritoneal dialysis, they will be inpatient at the hospital for peritoneal dialysis initiation and family training. Before sending you home from the hospital, we also provide 48 hours of supervised training to ensure you are fully prepared and comfortable to provide dialysis care on your own.
What to Expect at Your First Appointment
Preparing for Your Visit
Before your appointment, our staff will walk you through any necessary paperwork. As you anticipate your visit, prepare yourself and your child for a long day. During your appointment, you will meet with physicians, dialysis technicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, dieticians, pharmacists, social workers, Child Life specialists and hospital-based schoolteachers.
Before Your Appointment
Hemodialysis appointments can be long, so please pack a bag with several items that can comfort or entertain your child during their procedure. Blankets, books, stuffed animals and video games tend to be popular choices. Plan to bring an activity for yourself, too. Children cannot eat during dialysis, so please make sure your child has a snack or meal before your arrival. If your child receives supplemental feeds, our renal dieticians will help schedule these around dialysis times.
On the Day of Your Visit
We ask that you arrive in the Dialysis Unit 15 minutes before your appointment. Please be sure to leave enough time for parking and walking to the clinic. If you’re running late for your appointment, please contact us.
Hemodialysis Appointments
Before starting hemodialysis, we will weigh your child, take their blood pressure, assess their fluid status and check their access line. Then, we will connect them to the dialysis machine. Children receive dialysis three to five times a week. Each procedure takes three to four hours.
For the dialysis treatment, babies will be in a crib. Older children sit in a reclining chair. The nurse responsible for your child’s care will be present for the entire treatment. At least once a month, we run blood tests that help us manage medications, diet as well as the dialysis prescription. We will also examine their access site and change the dressing once a week.
During dialysis, a dietitian and social worker will talk with you about your child’s nutrition and any other support needs you have. Child Life specialists and school teachers will also visit your child.
Peritoneal Dialysis Appointments
These monthly appointments last roughly 2.5 hours. Like hemodialysis appointments, we weigh your child, take their blood pressure, assess their fluid status and growth. We also perform blood tests to measure your child’s chronic kidney disease so we can modify diet, medications and the dialysis prescription. You will discuss your child’s dialysis treatments and nutrition with our peritoneal nurses and your child’s dietitian. We will also assess the peritoneal dialysis catheter and skin around it. You will meet with your child’s entire care team to review and make any changes to their monthly care plan. This includes physicians, peritoneal dialysis nurses, social workers, renal dieticians and child life specialists.
After Your Visit with the Dialysis Unit
After hemodialysis, your child may be more tired than usual. This is normal, and they should feel better by the next day. For hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis patients, we will provide written summaries of any medication or care plan changes.
As your child approaches transplant, we will coordinate the transplant evaluation with the transplant team. Many of the transplant team members are also dialysis team members so there will be many familiar faces.
If you have any questions between appointments, we encourage you to call our office. We are your partner in maintaining your child’s health and are happy to help you with any problems that arise, 24/7.
