Fresenius Medical Care held an open house for its Gloucester Dialysis unit on Sept. 1. The event featured tours of the modern clinic and an opportunity for patients, local business people and medical professionals to say goodbye to the outgoing director and welcome the facility’s new head.

David Schwermer is the new director of operations. He replaces Richard Clark, who has accepted a new job in Michigan after serving in that post since the new facility opened at Edgehill Town Center last December.

Clark was in charge of eight Fresenius clinics. A reorganization finds Schwermer heading six Fresenius dialysis units with the closest to Gloucester being clinics in Newport News and Williamsburg.

Besides showcasing its modern local facility, Clark said the open house was an opportunity for Fresenius staff to promote its new home dialysis service. Patients who prefer to have dialysis treatments at home can now do so, choosing from several models of equipment.

Dialysis machines are necessary to replace the kidney function when that organ is failing. Kidneys are the organs that help filter waste products from the blood, the website MedicineNet.com said, and are also involved in regulating blood pressure, electrolyte balance, and red blood cell production in the body.

Patients are served by 21 stations at the clinic, each with blood purification equipment, comfortable chairs which can be heated and have a massage function, and there are multiple television screens and WiFi access.

Schwermer said that the average dialysis session takes about four hours. Sessions generally are done three times a week, with the clinic opened Monday-Saturday and closed on Sundays. Early morning sessions are offered so patients can have a treatment before going to work.

Three physicians and one nurse practitioner provide contract services at the Gloucester clinic and other Fresenius centers in the region.

Aileen Poupard of Gloucester said she has been a patient at the Fresenius unit for about one year. The dialysis procedure does not hurt, Poupard said, but it took a brief time to become used to being pricked as the machine was hooked up each time. Also, she said she has altered her diet in conjunction with her kidney failure.

Loreen Paiva, a dietitian at the Gloucester center, said patients are evaluated to work up a more healthful diet for them. Paiva said those suffering from kidney problems may benefit from choosing foods that are low in potassium and phosphorus.

Amanda Gada, a social worker at the Gloucester unit, said patients meet with her to see what other services being offered in the community might assist them.

Schwermer has worked six years for Fresenius and has served about 40 years’ total in the health care industry.

Fresenius Medical Care North America has more than 2,150 dialysis facilities, a release said, and the parent company manufactures dialysis equipment.