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About Hannah Bracamonte

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So far Hannah Bracamonte has created 568 blog entries.

Better Late than Never: Genetic Diagnosis After Major Medical Events

2024-03-28T20:58:44-04:00December 17th, 2021|Categories: Diagnosis of Kidney Disease, The Kidney Citizen, What Causes Kidney Disease|

By Dawn Laney, MS You have two doctors for your kidneys, one for your heart, one for your head, one for your eyes, and one for your overall health. You are tested, biopsied, and imaged from head to toe on a regular basis. So, when one of these doctors suggests a referral to genetics, you may wonder, “Another doctor? Is it still worth seeking a genetic diagnosis as an adult who has already had kidney failure?” The answer is a resounding “Yes!” One way to improve care in a medically complicated situation is by learning if an underlying genetic condition could [...]

Why DPC Fights To Maintain Private Insurance Coverage for Dialysis

2024-03-28T20:58:45-04:00December 17th, 2021|Categories: Costs for Treatment, Quality of Life, The Kidney Citizen|

By Jackson Williams, DPC Vice President of Public Policy In recent years, private insurance coverage for dialysis patients has come under attack. In 2016, the outgoing Obama Administration issued a regulation that would have prohibited charities like the American Kidney Fund (AKF) from assisting patients with premiums. Several insurers unilaterally refused to accept checks from AKF or eliminated dialysis providers from their networks. Some employers have tried to restrict coverage for dialysis by amending their health plan language. The SEIU labor union promoted legislation and ballot initiatives, most notably in California, to restrict or eliminate insurance coverage for dialysis. DPC has [...]

Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD)

2024-03-28T20:58:46-04:00December 17th, 2021|Categories: The Kidney Citizen, What Causes Kidney Disease|

By Mirjana Dimitrijevic, M.D. and Keith A. Bellovich, DO There are two major forms of PKD: autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD) and autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). ARPKD is uncommon and is typically diagnosed in infancy or in utero. Autosomal recessive means that the mutated gene must be present in both parents (carriers) with a 1 in 4 chance that a child will inherit an abnormal gene from both parents and have the disease. In ADPKD each child of an affected parent has a 50% chance of inheriting the disease. ADPKD is the most common inherited kidney disease, characterized [...]

Travel Lovers, Don’t Let Dialysis Slow You Down

2024-03-28T20:58:46-04:00December 17th, 2021|Categories: Home Hemodialysis, Peritoneal Dialysis, Quality of Life, The Kidney Citizen, Treatment|

By Vanessa Evans, Sr. Manager, Patient Communities and Advocacy at Fresenius Medical Care North America and DPC Board Member Brenda and Bernie Alvey are the consummate camper travelers, crisscrossing the United States and taking in sights from the St. Louis Arch to the Grand Canyon. But their camper has a few unusual features, including two recliners, extra outlets, and a homemade stand to accommodate Brenda’s portable home hemodialysis equipment. The Alveys have always loved traveling, but they thought their trips had come to an end when Brenda was diagnosed with Membranoproliferative Glomerulonephritis (MPGN), an autoimmune disease that destroys kidney [...]

Hyperkalemia From a Dietitian’s Viewpoint

2024-03-28T20:58:47-04:00December 17th, 2021|Categories: Nutrition, The Kidney Citizen|

By Fanny Sung Whelan, MS, RDN Have you been diagnosed with hyperkalemia? Hyperkalemia refers to a medical condition that occurs when the potassium level in your blood gets too high [1]. “Hyper” means “over or beyond”, and “-kalemia” means “the presence of potassium in the blood.” Hyperkalemia is a common diagnosis, and luckily most people have mild cases that are well tolerated, but even mild cases need to be treated to prevent more serious cases from occurring. If left untreated and severe hyperkalemia develops, which is defined by blood potassium levels of 7 mEq/L or higher, cardiac arrest and death can [...]

Kidneys: Holy Grail Pursuit of Regenerative Medicine

2024-03-28T20:58:48-04:00December 17th, 2021|Categories: Kidney Transplant, The Kidney Citizen, Treatment|

By Anthony Atala, MD, Director, Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine Recently, two teams of scientists from the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) won first and second place in NASA's Vascular Tissue Challenge, a prize competition that aims to accelerate tissue-engineering innovations. Vascularization of engineered solid organs – like the kidney – is part of the Holy Grail pursuit of regenerative medicine. Being able to create organs with the needed blood vessel structure means the organs are supplied with needed nutrients and oxygen to survive when implanted. The two Wake Forest teams both used 3D bioprinting technology to create [...]

H.R. 1676 – The Jack Reynolds Memorial Medigap Expansion Act

2025-01-30T16:12:22-05:00December 17th, 2021|Categories: Costs for Treatment, Quality of Life, The Kidney Citizen|

By Megan Hashbarger, Vice President of Government Relations Earlier this year, The Jack Reynolds Memorial Medigap Expansion Act (H.R. 1676) was reintroduced by Congresswoman Cynthia Axne (D-IA-03) to ensure all End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) patients have access to Medigap. This Congress, we were very pleased she was joined by Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA-03) in leading this effort. Ensuring all ESRD patients have access to Medigap is extremely important to help patients cover the high costs of care and to improve their access to transplantation. Medigap policies are standardized, private insurance policies that cover costs not covered by Medicare, such [...]

Improving Equity in Dialysis Treatments and Transplants

2024-03-28T20:58:50-04:00December 7th, 2021|Categories: Dialysis, eNews, Kidney Transplant, Treatment|

Earlier this month the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) announced that it is seeking comments on future rulemaking to support the President’s executive orders to advance health equity and improve health outcomes for people in need of dialysis treatment and transplants. HHS Secretary, Xavier Becerra stated, “We want to hear from diverse stakeholders, especially the patients and their families. Your feedback is essential to our work in ensuring equal access to vital resources.” HHS acknowledged that both Black and Latino individuals are more likely to have kidney failure than white individuals in the United States (almost 4 times [...]

Finding Your Voice – The Importance of Advocacy

2024-03-28T20:58:51-04:00December 1st, 2021|Categories: eNews, Quality of Life, Support|

Including the patient voice in healthcare is something that most people don’t have to think about. You realize how essential it is though if you are sick - something that Christina Fuhrman experienced firsthand when she got an infection. After being in the hospital for seven months, her doctor thought that the best course of treatment would be to remove her colon; however, Christina was worried about the impact on her quality of life. By doing her own research, she learned about another, possibly risky, treatment and decided to seek a second opinion when her doctor said she did not have [...]

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