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About Hannah Bracamonte

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So far Hannah Bracamonte has created 566 blog entries.

DPC Education Center Joins Forces With the CDC’s Making Dialysis Safer for Patients Coalition

2024-06-07T11:37:58-04:00October 19th, 2016|Categories: eNews, News & Events, Uncategorized|Tags: |

We are proud to announce that the DPC Education Center has recently partnered with the Making Dialysis Safer for Patients Coalition to help reduce the risk of bloodstream infections among hemodialysis patients. The Coalition is a collaboration of dialysis organizations who share the common goal of promoting the use of CDC recommendations and tools to improve patient safety nationwide. Dialysis Patient Citizens has been involved with the Bloodstream Infection (BSI) Collaborative since its creation and was the first patient group to participate, attending the inaugural meeting in 2011.  The Making Dialysis Safer For Patient Coalition was created out of this initial effort and is working to [...]

September is Healthy Aging Month

2024-03-28T21:01:48-04:00September 9th, 2016|Categories: eNews, Lifestyle, Quality of Life|Tags: |

By Kathi Niccum Ed.D, Education Director Healthy aging is important for all age groups.  It includes all aspects of your life, including both physical and mental health.  Healthy aging is especially important when you live with a chronic illness.   It is all too easy to become overwhelmed and neglect other aspects of your health.  So celebrate healthy aging month by setting or reaffirming personal goals and engaging in activities promoting a healthy lifestyle. Here are some examples of what you can do to promote a heathy lifestyle: 1.     Stay active Exercise is important for maintaining both physical and mental aspects of health. [...]

“DASH” Diet Lowers Blood Pressure and Reduces Risk of Kidney Disease

2024-03-28T21:01:49-04:00August 29th, 2016|Categories: eNews, News & Events, Nutrition, Staying Healthy, What Causes Kidney Disease, What Is Kidney Disease|Tags: |

Research from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health suggests the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) Diet has shown to be effective in preventing other chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular disease and kidney disease. The diet is high in nuts and legumes, low-fat diary, whole grains, fruits and vegetables and low in red and processed meat, sugar-sweetened beverages and sodium. Researchers examined records from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study which in 1987 began following a group of over 15,000 middle aged adults for more than 20 years. The ARIC Study was started in 1987 by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute [...]

Vaccine Changes for the 2016-2017 Flu Season

2024-03-28T21:01:53-04:00July 18th, 2016|Categories: eNews, Immunizations, Pediatric Kidney Disease|

While it feels like summer just started, the Centers for Disease Control has already begun preparation for the next flu season. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted that live attenuate influenza vaccine (LAIV) also known as the “nasal spray” flu vaccine, should not be used during the 2016-2017 flu season. ACIP is a panel of immunization experts that advise the CDC. Their decision to vote against using LAIV is based on data showing poor or relatively lower effectiveness from 2013 to 2016. In late May, preliminary data on the effectiveness of LAIVE among children ages 2 through 17 [...]

University of Maryland Helps Patient Avoid Dialysis Through 28-Person Kidney Swap

2024-03-28T21:01:54-04:00July 18th, 2016|Categories: eNews, Kidney Transplant|Tags: , |

If you are currently on the kidney transplant list, you may have heard of paired kidney donation. When a family member or friend who is willing to be a living donor, but is not compatible to their intended recipient they can choose to be part of a paired kidney exchange. The transplant team will work to match another donor and recipient to create a donation “chain.” Frequently you’ll see “chains” in the news with, 9, 14, or even 32 donors and recipients paired together for kidney donations. Recently, the University of Maryland School of Medicine in conjunction with the National Kidney Registry participated in a 28-person [...]

New Tool Available to Help Patients Choose their Treatment

2024-03-28T21:01:55-04:00July 18th, 2016|Categories: eNews, In-Center Hemodialysis, News & Events, Peritoneal Dialysis, What Is Kidney Disease|

We frequently hear from dialysis patients about how they were not adequately informed of their treatment options before having to start treatment. While many patients end up “crashing” into dialysis, those who are diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) early need to begin educating themselves on their treatment options to be prepared for End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). There are three avenues of treatment you can choose for renal replacement therapy: hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, and kidney transplant.  While it is possible to receive a transplant before needing dialysis, it is still important to know what those dialysis options are in the [...]

Acid Blockers Could Damage Kidney Function, Study Finds

2024-03-28T21:01:56-04:00July 8th, 2016|Categories: Early Intervention, eNews, Medication|Tags: , |

Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPI), or medications used to treat gastric issues as heartburn and acid reflux, were prescribed to an estimated 15 million people in the United States in 2013. A recent study from the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, the Veteran’s Affairs Saint Louis Health Care System and Washington University in St. Louis suggests that long-term use of these drugs could lead to chronic kidney disease. To determine the effects of PPI’s on kidney function, researchers looked at more than 173,000 new users of PPIs over a period of five years. Overtime, it was found that PPI users had [...]

Is This the Future of ESRD Care? A New Program Goes the Extra Mile for Dialysis Patients

2024-03-28T21:02:00-04:00June 28th, 2016|Categories: The Kidney Citizen, Uncategorized|

By, Jackson Williams, Government Affairs Director for Dialysis Patient Citizens For more than a decade, officials in Washington, DC have been experimenting with ways to reorganize Medicare to deliver better care at lower costs. Several of these “demonstration projects” have involved ESRD patients. Now, the largest such program for dialysis patients has kicked off at 13 locations across the U.S. It’s called the ESRD Seamless Care Organization, or “ESCO,” model. This article describes what one of these projects, Philadelphia-Camden Integrated Kidney Care, is doing to improve care for its patients. Philadelphia-Camden Integrated Kidney Care covers about 2,000 patients at DaVita clinics in the [...]

What is Preemptive Transplantation?

2024-03-28T21:02:01-04:00June 1st, 2016|Categories: eNews, Kidney Transplant|

One potential treatment option when a living donor is involved is a preemptive transplant. This is where you get a transplant before going on dialysis or, in some cases, shortly after. Generally, you won’t be a candidate until your kidney disease has at least progressed to stage 3. Then, you and your donor would go through a quickened evaluation process and set a date for surgery before your kidneys completely fail or shortly after. Preemptive transplantation takes place in 17% of all transplants.[1] The surgery is not for everyone, and some potential barriers include: Some patients believe that dialysis is [...]

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