News & Events
Discover new information and educational offerings that we provide. Explore our newsletters, blogs and upcoming webinars/conference calls.
Contents:
National Hispanic Heritage Month
National Hispanic Heritage Month (often called Hispanic Heritage Month) is observed from September 15th to October 15th. This time of observation started in 1965 as Hispanic Heritage Week with the leadership of President Lyndon Johnson, and further amplified in 1988 by President Ronald Reagan (National Archives, 2024), to acknowledge the many important contributions Hispanic Americans have made throughout history. It’s also important to acknowledge the renal health disparities that still exist for minority populations in the United States, including Hispanic Americans. We typically see chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) occur at much higher rates among these populations, for example, with Hispanic Americans being at about a 2.3 times higher rate of [...]
New Education Center Monthly Events Calendar
The DPC Education Center is happy to announce that we will now have a printable overview of monthly events! This flier will be updated at the start of each month in order to provide patients, caregivers, or anyone interested in our education events with a quick overview of what’s happening. You'll find four versions, one for each time zone, that can be downloaded, shared, and printed. Check out our October flier here! Each month, the new flier will be posted at the top of our Events page. Download October Flier
Recipe of the Month: Apple Baked Pork Chops
October’s recipe is a hearty dish that’s perfect for cooler weather: Apple Baked Pork Chops
Crisp de Melocotón
Adaptada de la National Kidney Foundation por Fanny Sung Whelan, MS, RDN, LDN. Tiempo de preparación: 30 min Tiempo de cocción: 30 min Tiempo total: 1 hora Porciones: 7 Ingredientes: 1 lata (21 onzas) melocotones en su propio jugo, escurridos 1 cucharadita jugo de limón ½ taza azúcar morena ¼ taza harina blanca ¾ taza avena ½ cucharadita canela ½ cucharadita nuez moscada ¼ barra de mantequilla fría, sin sal Preparación: Precalienta el horno a 350 °F (175 °C). Engrasa un molde para muffins con mantequilla. Distribuye los melocotones en los espacios del molde y rocíalos con el jugo de limón. En un recipiente, combina el azúcar, la harina, la avena, la canela y [...]
What is Polycystic Kidney Disease?
Do you know? “Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) is a genetic disorder that causes many fluid-filled cysts to grow in your kidneys. Unlike the usually harmless simple kidney cysts that can form in the kidneys later in life, PKD cysts can change the shape of your kidneys, including making them much larger. PKD is a form of chronic kidney disease (CKD) that reduces kidney function and may lead to kidney failure. PKD also can cause other complications, or problems, such as high blood pressure, cysts in the liver, and problems with blood vessels in your brain and heart.” Polycystic kidney disease is a genetic disorder that causes many fluid-filled cysts to grow in your kidneys (NIH, 2024). Every September 4th, Polycystic Kidney Disease Awareness Day is observed, [...]
Recipe of the Month: Peach Crisp
September’s recipe is a great late summer dessert and is easily customizable with different fruits: Peach Crisp.
Dialysis Patient Citizens and the DPC Education Center Mourn the Passing of Arthur Hill
It is with a heavy heart that DPC and the DPC Education Center Board, staff, and volunteers learned of the passing of one of our Board members, Arthur Hill. Arthur worked as a distressed assets consultant for nearly 30 years before being diagnosed with kidney failure. From that point on, he applied his sharp analytical skills to exploring how advances in technology could be leveraged to help kidney patients and dedicated his time to patient advocacy. Arthur was instrumental in passing Indiana Senate Bill 215 (Public Law 28-2024), landmark legislation that reduced monthly Medigap premiums for dialysis patients under 65. He was proud to create tangible changes in the lives of countless Americans with kidney [...]
Dental Hygiene
When was the last time that you went to the dentist? Did you know that diseased gums can prevent or delay a kidney transplant? There are many reasons why an individual does not go to the dentist—fear, lack of funds, one may think that dental appointments are not as important as medical appointments, no dental insurance and other factors. It is important to adopt the mindset that diseased gums can infect the entire body. Infection is something that all patients should avoid. Education about the prevention of infection is vital. Timely dental appointments and daily dental hygiene can help to prevent dental disease and/or dental infections. Please contact your providers and medical professionals when seeking [...]
Recipe of the Month: Honeyed Carrots and Leeks
August’s recipe is a super simple side that comes together in a flash for busy late-summer nights: Honeyed Carrots and Leeks.
Recipe of the Month: Creamy Homemade Mac & Cheese
July's recipe is a classic side dish and the perfect answer for what to bring to BBQs, pool parties, and potlucks: Creamy Homemade Mac & Cheese.
Anxiety
ANXIETY is a word that most people do not want to think about or talk about. Anxiety in renal patients is very common. The important thing is to tell your medical provider(s) exactly how you feel on a day-to-day basis. There are methods to help a renal patient (and others) to cope with anxiety, which is why you should consult a medical professional. It is nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed about. You did not choose to get anxiety, but you can choose to get help if that is your desire. The following informaiton has been compiled from DaVita (www.davita.com) and The Mayo Clinic (www.mayoclinic.org). (Retrieved from www.davita.com) Anxiety and Dialysis By DaVita® Social Worker Rob [...]
DPC Education Center Adopts New AI Policy
To protect patient privacy and maintain the confidentiality of member discussions, the DPC Education Center has adopted a policy restricting the use of artificial intelligence (AI) meeting notetakers. Member privacy takes precedence over convenience and automation, and participants must be able to engage openly without concern that their conversations are being recorded, transcribed, analyzed, or retained by AI systems. Therefore, the use of Otter and any substantially similar application or service is prohibited during all DPC Education Center activities. We thank our members and community at large for adhering to this new policy and creating a safe space for kidney patients.
Innovation Isn’t Enough: A Dialysis Patient’s Case for Real Access
Pesh Patel, DPC Patient Ambassador In 2017, I was visiting Melbourne, Australia as part of my career as a global hospitality executive. While walking around the city, I suddenly had to stop four separate times over the course of just three city blocks because I couldn’t breathe. I thought I was out of shape. What I didn’t know was that I had been living with a single kidney since birth, and that kidney was functioning at 2%. If I hadn’t gone to the ER when I did, I would have died within 20 hours. Two hours later, I was in the ICU on a 24-hour dialysis machine. It was the first time I [...]
Patient Stories are the “Secret Sauce”
Elizabeth Lively, DPC Eastern Region Advocacy Director Pamela Zielske, DPC Western Region Advocacy Director Does advocacy have a “secret sauce” for success? Are there tactics and tools that an organization needs to consider as strategies are developed to get legislation passed? What does success look like? How does optimism and the cumulative impact of advocacy work impact positive outcomes? Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) began a Medigap (Medicare Supplement) campaign in 2022 supporting legislation in the states to provide premium protected Medigap coverage to ESRD patients under-age 65. This campaign supports DPCs goals of improved financial security, increased patient choice and access to kidney transplantation. DPC Board Member Arthur Hill (right) [...]
Challenges, Opportunities, and Innovation in End Stage Kidney Disease and Transplantation
Dr. Velma Scantlebury, MD, FACS, GCM, DPC Education Center Health Care Consultant Over 90,000 patients sit on dialysis awaiting kidney transplantation, and thousands more are on some form of dialysis modality, with the hope of maintaining life without a kidney transplant. From chronic kidney disease (CKD) to end stage kidney disease (ESKD) there are significant challenges for both patients and healthcare providers, including delays in the onset of dialysis, complications associated with dialysis, limited access to donor organs and the need for lifelong immunosuppression following transplantation. Additionally, socioeconomic disparities and geographic barriers often impact the quality and availability of care. A. Innovations in CKD 1. GLP-1 Receptor Agonists: Improving Kidney and Cardiovascular [...]
Kidney Innovators Highlight New Therapies, Medicare Challenges at Congressional Hearing
Jackson Williams, DPC Vice President of Public Policy On March 18, 2026, the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health held a hearing titled “Improving Kidney Health Through Better Prevention and Innovative Treatment”. This hearing allowed patients, providers, and other stakeholders to highlight the struggles many kidney patients face and the barriers that prevent them from accessing better, innovative treatment. This was exciting for kidney care advocates, as challenges have mounted since Congress last addressed kidney health in 2008. Better still, the questions from Members of Congress demonstrated that committee leaders understand those challenges and potential solutions. They are knowledgeable about these issues in large part because patients have shared their experiences and [...]
Innovation, Hope, and the Gift of a Second Chance – A Gift That Rewrites a Life
C. Andre’ Daniels, DPC Patient Ambassador Hope is not passive. It is not a soft sentiment or wishful thinking. For patients living with End-Stage Renal Disease, hope is often an act of discipline. It is the decision to keep going through the fatigue, the uncertainty, the appointments, the waiting, and the fear. It is the choice to believe that even in the face of illness--innovation, faith, and human generosity can come together to rewrite a life. I know this because I have lived it. When I woke up after my kidney transplant, I knew immediately that my life had changed. What I did not yet fully understand was how profoundly that gift would [...]
Dialysis patients are missing out on new therapies due to Medicare’s ESRD payment structure
Quiana Bishop, DPC Board President While dialysis treatments sustain life for people with kidney failure, they cannot replace all of the many functions of a healthy kidney. Patients rely on medications to address certain symptoms. As of January 1, 2025, all of these medications are included in the ESRD prospective payment system bundle and dialysis facilities are given the responsibility of dispensing them. This arrangement saves money for Medicare, but it does so by creating a profile for an “average patient” and discouraging expenditures on anyone else. As we know, there’s no such thing as an “average” patient, with the result that innovative treatments developed for those who need extra, are not getting [...]
Hope, Innovation, and Life Reimagined
Albert Bailey Brisbane III, DPC Patient Ambassador I was a teenager when I first heard the word dialysis. In 1981, my father suddenly became critically ill while at work and was rushed to the hospital, where he passed away two weeks later. I remember being told that he refused dialysis. I didn’t know what dialysis was, only that my hero was gone forever. Years later, I heard that word again — dialysis. This time, it was my mother. Her experience came suddenly, and she began emergency dialysis in the hospital. In that moment, my sister and I didn’t think about treatment. We thought about death because that had been our only reference point. [...]
High-Volume Hemodiafiltration: Understanding a Dialysis Treatment Approach
Dr. Stefano Stuard, MD, PhD, Nephrologist Dr. Michael Anger, MD, Nephrologist Overview: Hemodiafiltration (HDF) is a type of dialysis that cleans the blood using two cleaning processes: diffusion and convection. Standard hemodialysis mainly relies on diffusion alone. Diffusion and convection remove waste in different ways. Diffusion helps remove smaller waste products, while convection helps move larger waste substances out of the blood. Using both processes allows for a broader range of waste removal during treatment. High-volume hemodiafiltration refers to HDF treatments that use a larger amount of clean, sterile replacement fluid during the dialysis session, as described in clinical studies. This fluid is carefully prepared and monitored. HDF does [...]
