Can You Do Dialysis at Home Without a Family Caregiver?
Yes. With staff-assisted home hemodialysis from Elik Home Dialysis, a licensed dialysis nurse performs every step of every treatment in your home, so no family caregiver, care partner, or helper is ever required. Patients who live alone, across the Houston and Dallas metros, are the rule here, not the exception.
Why most home dialysis programs assume a helper
Most home hemodialysis programs are built on training: the patient, or a family member, learns to run the machine and place the needles, and someone has to be there for every treatment. That model quietly disqualifies the people who need home treatment most: people who live alone, seniors, and families who cannot staff a treatment three days a week, forever.
The model that removes the requirement
Staff-assisted home hemodialysis removes the helper from the equation entirely. A licensed Elik dialysis nurse arrives at your home, sets up the machine, places the needles, runs the full treatment to your nephrologist's exact prescription, monitors you one-on-one from first minute to last, breaks everything down, and documents the visit for your doctor. You are the only person who needs to be home.
What this means if you live alone
Living alone stops being a barrier and becomes one of the most common reasons patients choose Elik. There is no one to train because there is nothing for a family member to do. The household stays a household; nobody's spouse, son, or daughter becomes a dialysis technician.
Who stays in charge of your care
Your own nephrologist. The team leading Elik Home Dialysis brings more than 80 years of combined experience in dialysis, 45 of them in staff-assisted home hemodialysis. Every treatment runs under your doctor's orders, and your doctor receives documentation after every visit. Dialysis at home without a care partner in Houston Dialysis at home without a care partner in Dallas
Frequently asked questions
- No. The Elik nurse performs the complete treatment at every visit. No family training exists in this model because no family task exists.
- You qualify exactly the same. The nurse is the care partner; you are the only person who needs to be home.
- 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