Wealth Financial are proud to support the North-West Renal Unit with a donation of a blanket warmer to help dialysis patients at the North-West Renal Unit.
Managing Director Michael Rowlands was alerted to the need for the blanket warmer when Wealth Financial held team and business development sessions in May 2026. During a “Shark Tank” style session on community impact, Senior Financial Adviser Scott James from our Devonport office highlighted the need for a small piece of equipment at the North-West Renal Unit which could make a big difference to patient comfort.
Kidney disease and the dialysis process leaves patients feeling cold. Having a blanket warmer at the unit ensures they have a supply of warm blankets, which offers them great comfort as dialysis can take 4-5 hours to complete.
In the past, the unit has relied on small heat packs which only warm a small area, or patients would bring electric throws and rugs, which had its own challenges, with those products needing compliance testing and tagging. Eventually electric throws were banned due to the fire risk.
Scott’s knowledge of the need for the Renal Unit’s blanket warmer is through his own history as a dialysis patient and transplant recipient. Scott was diagnosed with Berger disease (also known as IgA nephropathy) in 2012, and lost 70 per cent of function in his kidneys.
Speaking to The Advocate*, Scott said he had treatment at home with a less powerful dialysis, but he knows the impact the more aggressive type can have on your body.
“I did the hemodialysis [more aggressive type] twice and it’s exhausting,” he said.
“I was in bed all night with the machine but these people [who attend the North West Renal Unit for appointments], they’re in a chair, it’s really quite aggressive, they get cold, they get sick.”
Being able to give back to the community is something Wealth Financial takes pride in, especially when its own team members have a connection to a particular cause and can provide insight into the challenges various communities face while undergoing medical treatment.
Around 6.5% of Tasmanians have chronic kidney disease, and North-West Tasmania has a high rate of chronic kidney disease. A comprehensive study into kidney disease in Tasmania, published in 2021 showed West and North-West Tasmania had a 45% higher incidence compared with Hobart and the South-East (128 per 10,000) vs 87 per 10,000).
Many people miss routine kidney function, blood and urine tests. Early stages of kidney disease often have no symptoms, meaning sufferers are not even aware they have an issue, and it’s often found too late.
Wealth Financial would like to thank Scott, who we’ll say is quite humble and doesn’t like to draw too much attention to himself, for bringing attention to this cause, and the North-West Renal Unit. The unit were kind enough to allow us to visit and speak with staff and patients about the difference the donation of a simple piece of equipment has made to the unit.
*Scott James’ quotes published in The Advocate on 7 September 2026.