Patients on Hemodialysis for Over Ten Years

The first patient to commence chronic hemodialysis at the Westchester County Medical Center began home hemodialysis training in November 1967. The Westchester County Medical Center, at that time known as Grasslands Hospital, was one of 12 demonstration projects supported by the Chronic Kidney Disease Program of the United States Public Health Service. For the remainder of 1967, and in 1968, 1969, and 1970, the program was principally a home training program and no patients were chosen other than those who were going on to home hemodialysis training. Sometime during the first half of 1971 a modest in-center hemodialysis program was also begun. From those early years of our chronic hemodialysis program there remain alive today 17 patients, most of them from the early home program and several from the early in-center program.