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About Hannah Bracamonte

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So far Hannah Bracamonte has created 570 blog entries.

Maintaining Personal Relationships While on Dialysis

2024-03-28T20:59:19-04:00March 25th, 2019|Categories: Mental Health, Sex and Intimacy, Support, The Kidney Citizen|

By Alex Purcell People with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) who have gone through dialysis can tell you that it is exhausting—and so can their loved ones. Not only does dialysis take a physical toll on the patient, it can also put significant stress on the patient’s relationships with their friends and family, right when they need those relationships the most. This dynamic can be especially complicated if the primary caregiver is a spouse or close relative. If you’re in this situation, as either a patient or a loved one, you may be feeling frustrated, sad or lonely. But there’s hope: transplant [...]

Free Monthly Webinars/Conference Calls

2024-03-28T20:59:20-04:00March 21st, 2019|Categories: About DPC Ed Center, Costs for Treatment, Diagnosis of Kidney Disease, Early Intervention, Employment, Home Hemodialysis, Humor and Laughter, Immunizations, In-Center Hemodialysis, Kidney Transplant, Lifestyle, Medication, Mental Health, Music, Nutrition, Pediatric Kidney Disease, Peritoneal Dialysis, Physical Health, Sex and Intimacy, Stages of Kidney Disease, Stress Management, Support, Symptoms, The Kidney Citizen, Webinar, What Causes Kidney Disease|

The DPC Education Center invites people living with chronic kidney disease (CKD), end-stage renal disease (ESRD), their families and professional staff to join us for our monthly webinars. You can also join by phone or view the recordings online at a later time. The webinars are planned for the fourth Thursday of the month at 2 p.m. Eastern time zone, except for November and December when they will be held during the third week of the month. You can download monthly webinar fliers to share with others and/or register for webinars at www.dpcedcenter.org/news-events/education-webinars. Join by phone by calling 1-877- 399-5186 and [...]

Kidney Communi­ty Blocks Threats to Charitable Assistance and Dialysis Funding in California

2024-03-28T20:59:21-04:00March 18th, 2019|Categories: The Kidney Citizen, Uncategorized|

By Megan Hashbarger, Director of Congressional and State Relations, Dialysis Patient Citizens Dialysis Patients Citizen’s (DPC) mission is to improve dialysis citizens’ quality of life. As a result, we have played an important role in increasing patient access to: health insurance coverage, care coordination, medications and innovative therapies. While we work hard to improve public policies for patients, sometimes we are put on defense to protect our previous hard-fought victories. One of the most important tools for protecting patient choice and access to insurance coverage is the ability of charities to provide financial assistance in helping dialysis patients purchase insurance coverage. [...]

Advance Care Planning

2024-03-28T20:59:22-04:00March 15th, 2019|Categories: Diagnosis of Kidney Disease, Lifestyle, The Kidney Citizen|Tags: |

By David Mahoney, MD As a member of Dialysis Patient Citizens, you have chosen to become involved, speak up for what is important to you and take charge of the management of your health. Dialysis modality, diet, medications, exercise, management of your other health-related issues, all require your informed decision-making and action. But despite this high level of involvement in their health care, few dialysis patients have addressed the issue of advance care planning. “I don’t want to talk about that now.” “That’s for sick people, and I am doing well.” “That really scares me.” “I am NOT ready to talk [...]

Insights from the Dialysis Patient Citizens 2018 Patient Survey: Patients’ Priorities for Quality Measures and New Innovations in ESRD Care

2024-03-28T20:59:23-04:00March 11th, 2019|Categories: Diagnosis of Kidney Disease, In-Center Hemodialysis, The Kidney Citizen|

By Jackson Williams, Director of Regulatory Affairs and General Counsel, Dialysis Patient Citizens Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) thanks everyone who completed its 2018 Patient Survey. It is another way to make your voices heard. We use our patient survey to get your input on current issues and to convey your opinions to policymakers in Washington, DC. This year, our survey included questions on two recent developments in Washington: Medicare’s “Meaningful Measures” Initiative: In early 2018, Medicare officials announced plans to reduce the number of quality measures it uses to hold health care providers accountable. This meant that for dialysis care, the [...]

New Course – Sepsis and Kidney Disease

2024-03-28T20:59:24-04:00March 7th, 2019|Categories: Online Courses, What Causes Kidney Disease|Tags: |

Print out the flier The DPC Education Center has a new, easy way to help you learn! We are kicking off National Kidney Month with a brand-new course titled, "Sepsis and Kidney Disease." With this free, online mini course you will learn about sepsis, including its causes and symptoms, and how to get treatment for this potentially devastating and life-threatening condition. Explore topics by watching videos, reading articles and participating in online activities. Go at your own pace as you learn what sepsis is and what actions to take. Be an advocate for your health, and get started [...]

Improvements in Dialysis Care Are Outpacing Other Serious Chronic Disease Conditions – Including Cancer and Heart Failure

2024-03-28T20:59:25-04:00March 4th, 2019|Categories: Costs for Treatment, Diagnosis of Kidney Disease, eNews|

Improvements in dialysis care are outpacing outcomes for other chronic disease conditions, improvements that allow patients with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) to live longer lives – and yielding substantial savings to Medicare – according to a new fact sheet created from the health care consulting firm Discern Health, which analyzed United States Renal Data System (USRDS) data. An analysis of the USRDS data set by Discern Health reveals that, although ESRD patients are among the most complex and costly Medicare beneficiaries to treat, improvements in dialysis care have led to improvements that translate into larger gains in patient survival than other [...]

Get Your Sweat On! Exercising for Healthier Kidneys

2024-03-28T20:59:26-04:00March 1st, 2019|Categories: eNews, Physical Health, Webinar|

During the webinar, the following points will be covered: Background on the benefits of regular physical activity and exercise relating to kidney function. The impact current research is showing on exercising in helping to slow down kidney disease progression. Strategies for getting started with a new exercise routine, along with tips to keep you motivated! Presented by Collette Powers, MA, RDN, LDN, ACSM EP-C, Renal Dietitian

Two Therapies Found to Help Dialysis Patients with Depression

2024-03-28T20:59:27-04:00February 27th, 2019|Categories: eNews, Medication, Mental Health|

For almost 50 years, hemodialysis has extended lives of people with chronic kidney disease. But when a patient first learns that their kidneys have failed and dialysis is necessary to survive, it can be a jolting overture of mortality. These patients usually have lived for years with diabetes or hypertension – diseases onerous for their medication regimens and lifestyle constraints. Adding dialysis, a four-hour, thrice-weekly therapy, can easily push patients into depression if they don’t already have that diagnosis. With this backdrop, researchers report today that two treatments, cognitive behavioral therapy (counseling) and the drug sertraline, effectively reduce depression among people [...]

Growing Up On Dialysis

2024-03-28T20:59:28-04:00February 25th, 2019|Categories: Lifestyle, Pediatric Kidney Disease, The Kidney Citizen|Tags: |

By Julie Crandall, CBCS, CMAA, Patient Ambassador, DPC Education Center Board Member How was it to grow up with end-stage renal disease (ESRD)? Since I didn’t know any other way; for me, it was normal. I can tell you that in my case, my family was the most important people that helped me navigate childhood. It helped that they didn’t treat me like the ‘sick kid’ of the family; I was a daughter and a little sister. I didn’t know what to focus on for this article. It was difficult to narrow down my childhood with ESRD and dialysis to write [...]

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