Last week's flooding had far-reaching effects

Flooding has displaced families and livestock around the state this month but its effects reach farther than some might think.

Last weekend, the Northern Montana Health Care Dialysis Unit was directly affected when dialysis patients from the Poplar area were forced to travel to Havre for treatment.

“Most people don’t understand how important water is to the dialysis process,” said Jodi Korb, RN, director of Dialysis at NMHC. “Whenever there is flooding, excessive run-off or any conditions that may breach a public water system, there is a concern to dialysis units, and it is closely monitored.

June 7, Korb received a call from the Fort Peck Dialysis Unit in Poplar. Flooding on the Missouri River had clogged filters in the local water plant, cutting off water service to 3,000 people between Poplar and Wolf Point. Without water, the Fort Peck Dialysis Unit was forced to shut down, leaving 41 dialysis patients with no access to local dialysis services.

“They were looking for other dialysis units that could take their patients if necessary,” Korb said. “When the water was still unavailable on Saturday, we started planning to dialyze their patients on Sunday.”

For those who are not familiar with dialysis treatment, it is important to understand the severity of the situation. Patients with no kidney function, or renal failure, depend on dialysis to eliminate waste and unwanted water from their body. Most patients generally receive dialysis three times a week. Without dialysis treatment, these patients will become extremely ill.

Another important part of dialysis is that the process requires a large amount of water. Up to six gallons of water is used per minute, per patient, during treatment.

Although the, NMHC Dialysis Unit is not open on Sundays, Korb and dialysis nurse Doug Braun, RN, came in on their day off. They also had help from a dialysis nurse from Poplar who traveled with the patients. The staff treated 12 patients on Sunday alone.

“Some of these patients hadn’t had dialysis for three or four days,” Korb said. “It was imperative to their health that they receive their dialysis.”

Monday, the dialysis unit saw another five patients along with its regular patient load.

“I am so proud of my staff and really want to recognize their willingness to go the extra mile to help patients on the Hi-Line. They are heroes every day, but this week they have really outdone themselves,” Korb said.

Those sentiments were echoed by Robyn Nygard, RN, nurse manager at the Fort Peck Dialysis Unit.

“The staff at (Northern Montana Hospital) was wonderful,” Nygard said. “They came in on a Sunday to see our patients and we cannot thank them enough.”

Nygard said that the rest of their dialysis patients were sent to Williston, Billings and Bismarck Monday. The dialysis unit in Poplar was finally functional as of 11:30 a.m. Monday and resumed its regular schedule Tuesday.

Korb is quick to praise other departments and employees who came together Sunday to provide the Fort Peck dialysis patients with the care they needed.

“We had people from numerous departments who helped make it possible for us to provide quality care to these patients. It was definitely a great example of putting patients first and helping our neighbors on the Hi-Line,” Korb said.