Northwest Kidney Centers' new dialysis center in Renton will host a community open house from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23. The public is invited to attend the free event, which will feature tours, refreshments, healthy cooking demonstrations and a short program that begins at 1 p.m.

The 21,000-square-foot center includes a clinic that administers dialysis treatments and an area to train patients who prefer to give themselves dialysis at home. Located in an area of King County where kidney disease is growing fast, the facility is at 602 Oakesdale Ave. SW in Renton's Oakesdale Center business park.

The $4 million center is licensed to serve up to 168 patients, but large enough to serve up to 246 in the future. It employs 34 people. A generator on site provides continuous power so that life-saving dialysis can continue even if regular power is out.

"This is the first time we've had a home dialysis training center outside Seattle," said Northwest Kidney Centers CEO and President Joyce F. Jackson.

"We work one-on-one to help each patient and a family member learn how to provide dialysis treatments at home. It's a customized program so that the patient can feel very confident that they know how to do the treatments safely on their own, with our nurses just a phone call away," Jackson said. "Most people who try self-dialysis at home report that they feel better and enjoy more flexibility in their lifestyle when they no longer need to come to a dialysis center three days a week."

Dialysis center patients and staff members moved from a former treatment center at 4242 East Valley Rd. Northwest Kidney Centers now uses that building as a dispatch center for its team of nurses who provide dialysis in hospitals. They were formerly based in downtown Seattle.

In 2012, Northwest Kidney Centers is celebrating 50 years since its founding as the first out-of-hospital dialysis organization in the world. For more information, go to www.nwkidney.org.

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