In the fall of 2017, Manitoba Renal Program began piloting the use of a new home peritoneal dialysis (PD) machine.

The new machine operates overnight while users sleep and has features such as a large touch screen, visual aids and voice prompts as well as the ability to community remotely with nurses in Winnipeg. The machine uses cellular towers to send treatment information to Winnipeg PD programs at Seven Oaks General Hospital and St. Boniface Hospital.

For patients like Jeremy Starr, this new equipment is a game changer. After losing his vision to complications of diabetes, doing twin-bag peritoneal dialysis became a challenge. Jeremy started on the new machine last fall and is thrilled to be able to manage most of his home dialysis treatments himself in addition to having his days free now that he only dialyzes at night.

Jeremy lives in Sagkeeng First Nation about 130 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg. The remote-monitoring ability of the equipment reassures both Jeremy and his care team at Seven Oaks General Hospital. They know he can be closely monitored to ensure he is getting the best quality dialysis treatments and his health is stable. Jeremy recently talked to CBC News and Aboriginal Peoples’ Television Network about his use of this new machine and the positive impact it has had on his life.