Starling Physicians is nearing completion of a new dialysis access center in Newington that one of its doctors says is larger and more centralized for Starling’s Greater Hartford-area patients.
The center, at 505 Willard Ave., Building 1, is tentatively targeted to open about May 1. When it opens, it will replace a smaller access center Starling operates on Main Street in Hartford, said Dr. Tim Curley, managing partner of Starling’s nephrology division.
An access center provides a private, outpatient setting to evaluate and treat common problems associated with the catheters, grafts and fistulas necessary for dialysis access, according to Starling, which was formed in late-2015 by the merger of Rocky Hill’s Connecticut Multispecialty Group and New Britain-based Grove Hill Medical Centers.
A fistula is a connection of an artery and vein in the arm to create a dialysis site that uses needles for dialysis, replacing the need for chest wall catheters that can increase infection risk. Fistula placement is done in a hospital.
The access center will be staffed by two surgeons and two interventional nephrologists. Dialysis still occurs at a dialysis center.
The need for a larger access center was driven by the merger of physician groups, increasing the population of patients with chronic kidney disease and on dialysis, Curley said.
“It’s a major initiative to ensure our patients have timely, quick, high-quality access to our access centers,” he said.
