Can Elderly Patients Do Dialysis at Home?
Yes. With staff-assisted home hemodialysis from Elik Home Dialysis, a licensed nurse performs every step of every treatment in the patient's home, assisted living community, or skilled nursing facility. Age, vision, dexterity, and living alone are not barriers, because nothing about the treatment is ever handed to the patient.
Why age was ever a barrier
Traditional home dialysis assumes the patient or a family member trains on the machine and the needles. For many older patients, that assumption fails on vision, dexterity, memory load, or simply the absence of a trainable partner at home. The result: seniors who most want to stay home are pushed onto the transport-and-center treadmill.
The model built for exactly this patient
The Elik nurse performs everything, at every visit, one-on-one. The patient's job is their own chair. For a senior in their own home, that means no machine to learn and no needles to place. For a resident of assisted living or skilled nursing, the treatment happens inside the building, and the three weekly medical-transport round trips end permanently.
What families should know
No family training, no care partner, no transport coordination: those jobs end. The adult children who have been holding a transport schedule together get their weeks back, and the parent keeps their own nephrologist, who receives documentation after every visit. Home dialysis for your loved one in Houston Home dialysis for your loved one in Dallas
Frequently asked questions
- No. The Elik nurse performs the whole treatment; your parent is the only person who needs to be home.
- Yes. Elik nurses deliver the complete treatment inside assisted living and skilled nursing facilities in both metros, coordinated directly with the facility.
- No. Original Medicare does not pay for staff-assisted home hemodialysis, by law. Medicare Advantage plans follow Medicare's reimbursement rules, so they do not pay for it either. Elik provides staff-assisted home hemodialysis for eligible patients with BCBS, Cigna, or UnitedHealthcare/UHC commercial coverage, including when Medicare is the primary insurance. Medicare-only, Medicare Advantage (including BCBS, Cigna, or UHC Medicare Advantage plans), Medicare supplement (Medigap) plans, and Medicaid do not pay for this service through Elik. If you have Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, or UnitedHealthcare commercial insurance, on its own or as a secondary plan alongside Medicare, you qualify. Elik confirms your exact plan in one phone call.
- Call Elik: Houston (713) 861-7500, Dallas (972) 238-7788. We confirm your plan in one call, coordinate orders directly with your kidney doctor's office, and schedule your first home treatment.
Last reviewed: September 2026