McLane Children’s Hospital in Temple is opening an outpatient pediatric dialysis program at the Temple Dialysis Center that will serve young patients ranging in age from younger than 1 to 18.

This means Central Texas families won’t have to travel to Houston, Dallas or Austin for the life-saving treatment.

The pediatric dialysis program offers both hemodialysis, which is done at the center three times a week, and peritoneal dialysis, which is performed at home and monitored at the center at least once a month.

“Our main goal is to provide access to families in Central Texas whose child may be suffering from chronic kidney disease,” McLane Children’s Pediatric Nephrologist Dr. Faris Hashim said in a press release. “We know that kidney failure can impact a child’s development and especially be hard on them as well as their families.”

McLane Children’s Hospital Chief Nursing Officer Ellen Hansen said the program can treat six children at two different stations each day.

It features two pediatric nephrologists, two pediatric nurses, a social worker, a dietitian, child life professionals, and a teacher from the Temple Independent School District who will help children keep up with their schoolwork while at dialysis treatment.

Hansen said the start of this program comes from a $75,000 investment.

"We have had families in the past that their children needed outpatient hemodialysis services, and we didn't offer them here,” Hansen said.

That was the case for Temple resident Lisa Taylor and her three-year-old son Logan.

After finding out he had stage three kidney failure in May 2015, Logan spent a few months at McLane Children’s before transferring to the Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston for dialysis treatment in December 2015.

Lisa stayed with her son, meaning she had to give up her job, her home in Temple, and time with her three other children.

"In order to try to save your kid's life, you do whatever you have to do,” Lisa said.

Lisa stayed with Logan in Houston until he was released this March.

Logan is treated through peritoneal dialysis at home, and he and his mother drive to Houston twice a month to monitor the treatment.

After a few more medical tests, Logan will be placed on the kidney transplant list. Lisa said they hope he will receive a new kidney in October.

Lisa said she is relieved to know that if Logan needs dialysis after his transplant, they won’t have to travel far.

“It’s relieving, you know, if we have to do this all over again after he gets a transplant, sometime later in life, I know that there’s one right here. I don’t have to travel as far again,” Lisa said.