Construction began last month on the St. Thomas Dialysis Center, Virgin Islands Port Authority Executive Director Carlton Dowe announced Friday.
The center will be located on the second floor of the Crown Bay Center Mall at the Austin Babe Monsanto Marine Terminal, above First Bank, and should be completed by April, Dowe said.
The authority’s Governing Board received requests for a dialysis center from the cruise industry to provide this medical service for passengers while in port, according to Dowe. The board was also aware that the dialysis treatment facility at the Roy L. Schneider Regional Medical Center has been overwhelmed with residents.
Rudel Chinnery, chief executive officer of the St. Thomas Dialysis Center, said that his company is excited to have formed a long-term relationship with VIPA.
“The incidence of kidney failure is spreading across the world," Chinnery said. "The VIPA director and board have taken a very aggressive approach in allowing the new state-of-the-art dialysis center to operate at their mall in Crown Bay to augment dialysis treatment centers for our residents and to simultaneously provide a venue for our tourists to receive treatment while vacationing on St. Thomas.”
The St. Thomas Dialysis Center will serve the community, cruise ship passengers, air passengers and transients, Chinnery said. The group also hopes to encourage residents that have moved off island for regular dialysis treatment to return home when the center opens.
Chinnery said the center will also be able to accommodate guests in their hotel rooms by using portable dialysis devices. The St. Thomas Dialysis Center will have its own transportation system and will be able to pick up dialysis patients from their homes and bring them to the facility for treatment.
The center will also boost training and hiring of trained personnel, Chinnery said.
“One of our primary goals is to stimulate the local workforce by training and hiring qualified candidates," he said. "We have teamed with the University of the Virgin Islands and will jointly be providing the public with class information and rollout dates for the certified dialysis technician program this month,” he said.