Dialysis Center opening on Duval Mine Road

Dialysis patients in the Green Valley-area will no longer have to make the strenuous drive to Tucson three days per week.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Thursday at 1700 W. Commerce Point Place, just west of the Sahuarita Police Station off of Duval Mine Road, for the new Desert Dialysis Center, the only local provider of dialysis treatment.

The center will be opening after a final check by Medicare officials next week.

The center, which has another location on Prince Road in Tucson, is the Arizona division of Dialysis Clinic Inc., the largest non-profit dialysis company in the United States.

“Dialysis is no fun. It takes hard work, discipline and perseverance on the part of the patient,” said nephrologist Joy Logan, the center’s new medical director. Each dialysis session three to five hours long. “And when you add a 30-minute drive on the front and back end of that, it’s a challenge.”

“This clinic is going to be a blessing to the folks who live down here.”

The process of bringing the kidney treatment facility to Sahuarita began in November of 2004, when several concerned citizens met with community leaders and Desert Dialysis Administrator Larry Brauer to discuss the need for a dialysis center in the Green Valley/Sahuarita area.

Dialysis patient Tony D’Eustachio and his wife Roni were instrumental in getting the ball rolling on the project, Brauer said.

“People still don’t understand kidney disease, what leads to it and how to prevent it,” said D’Eustachio, who was told the high blood pressure he has had most of his life led to his kidney failure.

“There are over 300,000 people in the country currently on dialysis, and there are more every day. Anyone over 60 needs to see their doctor about the risks,” he said.

The center houses 24 hemodialysis machines and in a few months will be equipped to offer assistance with peritoneal dialysis, a process which, instead of using a dialysis machine, works by filtering a sterile fluid through the abdominal cavity, said an official.

The center will be open Monday, Wednesday and Friday, though eventually a Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday shift will be added. Call the Desert Dialysis Center in Sahuarita at (520) 625-0103 for more information.

jrichardson@gvnews.com | 547-9726