A presentation to mark upcoming renovations to the Roy L. Schneider Hospital kidney dialysis unit will be made at 10 a.m. Monday, Dec. 13, in the hospital lobby. Billie Hodges, acting president of Partners for Health, will present a check for $8,000 for the hemodialysis unit renovations, which will begin shortly. The funds were raised at the 1999 TLD Pumpkin Cup Golf Tournament.
A plaque will be presented to Partners for Health and the Irene and Ben Bayne Charitable Trust in recognition of their continuing hospital support. TLD of theVirgin Islands and the St. Thomas-St. John Ladies Golf Association will also be recognized for their fund-raiding efforts.
Hospital CEO Eugene Woods said that Interior Department federal Y2K grant funding received earlier this year has provided for the replacement of the hospital's current dialysis machines. "We anticipate that we will be able to treat about 50 percent more patients with the new machines and expansion of the unit," he said. "We are very excited about the improvements – the new equipment with state-of-the-art features will make an immediate difference in the care we can provide."
The new machines will not only benefit residents but also make better service available to the cruise ship population, Woods said. One of the factors cruise lines take into consideration in making destination decisions is the availability of services for passengers such as dialysis, he explained.