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Wilford Hall dialysis unit prepares for move to BAMC

  • Published
  • By Linda Frost
  • 59th Medical Wing Public Affairs
LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  After 50 years of saving lives, the valve to the water room in the dialysis unit at Wilford Hall Medical Center was shut off May 27, 2011, marking the closure of five decades of providing treatment to chronic dialysis patients.

The unit is scheduled to relocate to Ft. Sam Houston as part of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Law to transition all inpatient services to Brooke Army Medical Center.

"We are combining our forces and strengths at BAMC, and the final result will be a bigger and better dialysis support center for our patients," said Lt. Col. (Dr.) Laveta McDowell, the flight commander of nephrology, 59th Medical Operations Squadron.

Dialysis is a treatment for kidney failure. It can allow individuals to live productive and useful lives, even though their kidneys no longer work adequately.

The dialysis unit here opened in 1961, when dialysis was at the cutting edge of research and technology.

"Most of the Air Force nephrologists in the past five decades trained here," said Dr. McDowell, who also serves as the nephrology consultant to the Air Force Surgeon General. "This unit has provided guidance to all the other bases including the new dialysis system at the Craig Joint Theater Hospital at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan."

The closure of the unit was a sad moment for many. About 30 people gathered to watch Mrs. Bobbie Anderson shut off the water valve. Mrs. Anderson has worked in dialysis for 28 years. She has spent 18 years at Wilford Hall training doctors, nurses, and technicians on the dialysis unit.

"I chose to work in Hemodialysis as long as I did because of the camaraderie," commented Mrs. Anderson. "This was truly a unit that treated everyone like family."

The group cheered with pride for what the dialysis unit had meant to them.

"We cheered with pride for the patients we saved there; for the skills we learned that made us the best down range; for the feeling of family we had," added Dr. McDowell.

"One nurse told me that our dialysis unit inspired her in her career choice when she was a technician," she explained. "She has gone on to be the nurse manager of a large dialysis unit. That sort of story is common among many who've worked here."

On Sept. 15, all inpatient services from Wilford Hall will be in place at BAMC, or the new San Antonio Military Medical Center. Until that time, dialysis support for inpatients at WHMC will continue with the use of portable machines, peritoneal dialysis, and a new machine for hemodialysis treatment for intensive care unit patients.

"This is the machine that is used in the field hospital in Afghanistan. By using it here we are simultaneously providing cutting-edge care for our patients and training our medics with equipment they will use to save the lives of our wounded warriors in the future," said Dr. McDowell.

"Our staff is excited about the move to this new location and our patients can expect the same high quality, patient-centered care they experienced at Wilford Hall," she said.