A medical facility recently opened in the Midlands to help serve more patients. For dialysis patients who live in northeast Richland County and Blythewood, they have to travel to other clinics in Columbia that are over capacity.

Fresenius Medical Care North Star has about 13 other dialysis treatment centers throughout Columbia. 

A dialysis clinic manager says chronic kidney disease is prevalent in South Carolina and an increasing number of people require treatment. Dialysis is a life-sustaining procedure that cleans a patient's blood. Doctors say patients who have kidney disease and do not get a transplant will need dialysis for the rest of their lives. 

Clinic manager Kimberly Craig said the new center will be a major relief for the Northeast community.

"They are so full that we're running clinics that would normally have 80 patients, are getting into the 90's and 100's, which is causing a lot of pressure on the staff as well," she said. "Not just the managers but the staff as well. And the patients coming in late in the afternoon getting treatment."

The new center is at 1401 Highland Center Drive off Farrow and Hardscrabble Roads. The center is accepting new patients. For more information click here. 

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