Hanover Hospital nurses will receive specialized training to insert PICC lines on their patients.
Up until now — the Hospital has always had to send its patients to either Owen Sound or London to receive the PICC line.
Doctor Robert Basilij tells Bayshore Broadcasting News the PICC lines — or peripherally inserted central catheter — can improve the quality of life for a patient.
He notes the PICC line can deliver more than just medication — it can also be used to provide patients with a protein carbohydrate rich nutritious solution.
Doctor Basilij says it’s particularly helpful for cancer patients as well as those suffering with nausea or very little appetite.
Doctor Basilij says the PICC lines will help some patients recover quicker.
The PICC line is a long, slender, flexible tube that is inserted into a peripheral vein usually in the upper arm.
The catheter tip goes into a large vein in the chest near the heart to obtain intravenous access.
PICC lines are ideal for patients requiring long term I.V. meds, frequent blood transfusions as well as those receiving cancer treatment.
They can stay in a patient for an extended period of time.
