New Scarborough facility targets critical need for dialysis patients

Since North Horizon Holdings Inc. opened seven years ago, the investment firm has made giving back to local communities a top priority.

After the North Horizon team toured one of the existing dialysis units at Scarborough Health Network (SHN), it was clear more treatment rooms were needed, explains Annie Liu, the company’s Director of Corporate Affairs.

“We were very touched by the doctors and nurses there,” she says. “We saw firsthand how dire the need for expansion was and asked how we could help.”

Martin Lagman, a patient at SHN, couldn’t agree more. He plans his life around his dialysis appointments. The 62-year-old bank employee receives the lifesaving treatment for chronic kidney disease at one of SHN’s satellite dialysis units. He is just one of the more than 6,000 patients who rely on SHN for nephrology services, a specialized area of internal medicine related to kidney disease and treatment.

“I’ve been having hemodialysis for the last two years,” he says. “I come three times a week for four hours at a time. The machine literally becomes my kidney while it’s cleaning my blood because my own kidneys can’t do this adequately on their own.”

Lagman may receive treatment in a room with 10 or more fellow patients. Their chairs are just two metres apart, leaving little space for caregivers. While undergoing dialysis, patients snooze, scroll on their phones and try to relax amid a constant flow of nurses and patients coming and going.

Though SHN operates among the largest regional nephrology programs in Ontario, capacity is maxed out. The need for dialysis at SHN has grown by 9 per cent in the last four years with no signs of slowing down. It currently operates 116 dialysis stations, which run six days per week and some even overnight.

“The clinics are so busy that, if you need to change your appointment for any reason, it’s very challenging to get a new one,” Lagman says.

In Scarborough, demand for dialysis and other chronic kidney disease treatments is higher than other communities in Toronto due to its cultural demographics. The data illustrates this: Black communities are five times more likely to develop chronic kidney disease, while South Asian communities are 10 times more likely to experience kidney failure. These are two of the highest populations in Scarborough.

The plan to build an innovative, integrated health hub that will provide support and help patients at every stage of their chronic disease in their community is welcome news to patients, like Lagman.

When it opens in 2027, the Bridletowne Neighbourhood Centre will showcase a holistic approach to chronic kidney disease with a diabetes education centre, a dialysis centre with 45 private dialysis stations and nine home dialysis training stations, an on-site lab and daycare services.

“With this new facility, the crowding will ease at clinics as many patients transfer there,” he says. “I’m excited to see the positive impact it will make. And it’s not just me who will benefit, everyone will.”

After seeing the plans for the Bridletowne Neighbourhood Centre, North Horizon committed its support – one of the first companies to do so. To date, it has donated $200,000 and is planning on giving more. Liu says she hopes her company with inspire others to show their support for the centre, now in the early stages of construction in the Warden and Finch area.

“Our greatest hope is to see this new project set a standard for future community health care hubs and inspire communities across the country to follow suit,” says Liu. “Ultimately, we hope the Bridletowne project will improve health outcomes for Scarborough kidney patients and increase the capacity to treat many more in the future.”

While the Ministry of Health provides capital funding for the Bridletowne facility, SHN is responsible to raise funds for the local community share, plus the cost of equipment. Fundraising efforts are in full swing. “It’s so important to have the community involved and invested in the changes that we’re trying to bring to Scarborough,” notes Alicia Vandermeer, President & CEO of SHN Foundation.

The Love, Scarborough campaign, launched in 2022, has been instrumental in ensuring the growing diverse community of 850,000 people it serves has the health care services it needs. It has a $200-million fundraising goal to support a dynamic slate of projects, including Bridletowne, expanding and upgrading emergency departments at SHN, a recently opened community mental health centre and a new education and research centre to support Scarborough’s new medical school.

Support from North Horizon is crucial to achieving the goals set by SHN, says Vandermeer. “They’re an exceptional corporate partner,” she adds. “They brought 20 to 25 employees with them when they came in for a tour. They really wanted everyone to understand what is happening with health care in Scarborough and how the investment the company is making will make a difference. It was wonderful to share that with them.”

To encapsulate the philosophy that North Horizon’s senior executives have always held, they offer this Chinese saying: “Human life is of paramount importance, more precious than a thousand pieces of gold; to save it with one prescription is to show great virtue.”

To learn more about supporting the Bridletowne Neighbourhood Centre and other SHN projects, visit lovescarborough.ca

Advertising feature produced by Globe Content Studio with Scarborough Health Network. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.