This past week, Munson opened a new dialysis clinic in Kalkaska. It is a state of the art facility that is actually quite inviting. Those who receive dialysis will appreciate that, as most spend three or four hours a day, two or three times a week having this treatment done, Munson's planners obviously took time to ensure that the whole facility is bright and cheerful and one can almost forget that one is in a medical facility. Those receiving dialysis receive comfortable chairs, plenty of reading material, and a personal television.

The staff at the center are gracious and fun loving. The conversation between staff and patient is light and cheery. The staff have been training for some months with staff from the Traverse City dialysis location. This facility has been about 15 months in the making. It has taken a lot of work to come to fruition, but it is finally here.

"There are two issues. One is the community members themselves who travel over to Traverse City to receive dialysis continued to ask if there wasn't a way that they may have a facility that was a bit more convenient. The dialysis patient treatment is typically a three to four hour treatment and it is two times a week. That is a huge time commitment, and on top of that, traveling, especially this time of year, is enormously burdensome for these patients. They'll tell you that they wished that they had an alternative. The other issue involves the population of people needing dialysis. It has been growing so fast. Nationally it is about eight percent a year. The dialysis facility in Traverse City has been really stretched to accommodate the population that we've been serving. Beyond the community members that require dialysis we also serve a very large tourist operation. Anywhere in northern Michigan, of course, is a tourist destination. Those tourists include dialysis patients. To be able to provide dialysis to that population is one of our goals, to increase the number that we serve, both in Traverse City as well now, in Kalkaska," Janine Diebel, RN, the clinical manager of Munson and Kalkaska Dialysis, said.

Janine has a very good idea of what a long commute is. She hails from just north of Gaylord. She understands what it means to drive all this way and why someone who is seeking a tedious medical treatment would want a bit more convenience.

"From the Munson program we have about eighteen to twenty patients. From outlying programs, or patients that live in an area that would be more convenient to come here, we have about five. We're already getting calls from visitors that want to come here for short term visits," Janine said.

As far as how the rest of the Munson community feels about this newest addition Janine's answer is simple.

"We feel like we're all part of the same family. The long term patients coming here have been in the Munson program. All of the staff that are working here have been with the Munson staff for the last seven months. It's something that we're all celebrating together," Janine said.

In the midst of all of this new celebration was June Mann. June was one of the first patients to come and partake in the new dialysis center. As she sat reading the paper, answering questions, and watching her TV, she repeated the same happy message that had been going around all morning.

"It's going to shorten my day. I usually am on the bus at 10 a.m. and get home at 5 p.m., when I go to Traverse City. This is going to free up a lot more time. This facility is marvelous, beautiful," June, of Excelsior Township, said.

Obviously, not only is this facility sure to be a vital aspect of Munson's healthcare community, but also a vital aspect of their patient's lives. Many people have had a certain level of freedom return to their lives this day thanks to Kalkaska's new dialysis center.