News & Events
Discover new information and educational offerings that we provide. Explore our newsletters, blogs and upcoming webinars/conference calls.
Contents:
Mental Health Awareness Month
Mental health is defined by the World Health Organization as a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community. Mental health disorders are common in the United States, and each year approximately one quarter of the population suffers from one or more disorders. Mental health is a taboo subject in American culture. Many individuals are afraid to ask for help when they feel low or overwhelmed due to the stigma associated with mental health disorders. Maintaining emotional health can be a challenge for anyone, but [...]
Setting up Your Home Dialysis Unit without Feeling like You’re Living in an ICU: Designing Your Home Dialysis Unit
By Linda Gromko, MD and Jane C. McClure, Interior Designer This is the third of a four-part series on “Setting Up Your Home Dialysis Unit Without Feeling like You’re Living in an ICU!” We’ve already covered “Top Ten Considerations,” and “Setting Up with Safety First.” In this entry, we discuss the very basics of setting up your unit. Next time, we’ll address storage! The whole process of dialyzing at home can be daunting at first, but the benefits are well worth the effort. Dialyzing at home can provide the ultimate in personal flexibility – plus, more dialysis and more frequent dialysis which can truly improve the quality of your life. 1. As you start your [...]
Tickets Available Now for Inaugural Gala
Tickets are now available to purchase for DPC Education Center's Inaugural Gala on March 11, 2014. This year, we are extremely excited to honor a health care professional with the “Willem J. Kolff Award for Innovation and Patient Care.” Dr. Kolff was honored at DPC’s Gala in 2006 for inventing the dialysis machine. As a result, we decided to name this award after him, and are excited that his son will be attending to present the award. In addition to the health care proffesional, a dialysis patient will also be recognized for his continued work to educate patients and assist with low-income housing efforts. These honorees were chosen by a committee from nominations submitted by [...]
Join Us In The Fight Against Kidney Disease!
Do you want to help make a difference in the lives of millions of Americans through kidney disease education? Join the DPC Education Center's first annual National Kidney Month Fundraising Drive! The DPC Education Center is making great strides toward becoming the leading resource for kidney patients, family members and members on the hill to learn about dialysis and chronic kidney disease. With only two weeks left in National Kidney Month, now is the time to help us continue to provide extensive resources to patients and families to help curb the spread of this debilitating illness. We have a great program to help you raise awareness, while raising funds in celebration of National Kidney Month. Our [...]
Have you “saved the date”?
Preparations are in full swing for the DPC Education Center’s Inaugural Gala. We will honor the people you nominated for our Patient Award and our Healthcare Professional Award. The fundraising event will start with a “step and repeat” on the red carpet, followed by a meet & greet. We expect sponsors, patients, policy decision makers and others to join together for this first-time event! Entertainment will be provided by a popular local jazz pianist. A short program to honor our awardees and dinner will follow. Tickets are $500 per person and you will receive a charitable gift receipt for the cost of your ticket less the cost of dinner. We are very excited to see [...]
DPC Education Center’s Inaugural Gala
DPC Education Center’s (The Center) Annual Gala will be our first and we aspire to build good will and engage individuals for current and future philanthropic support. However, is not simply a celebration, more importantly, it is an effort to generate critical funds for kidney dialysis patient education. We are committed to reducing and avoiding End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) by addressing unmet needs and providing tools to empower dialysis patients. The Center’s Inaugural Gala will be an opportunity for those who support our mission to come together, celebrate and learn more about our programs. Our venue will be the very unique Rooftop Terrace of 101 Constitution Avenue NW in Washington, DC. Attendees will enjoy [...]
Exciting News from the Bloodstream Infection (BSI) Prevention Collaborative
Since 2011, DPC has been involved with the BSI Prevention Collaborative and was the first patient group to participate and attended the inaugural meeting in November 2011. The primary goal of the collaborative is preventing bloodstream infections in hemodialysis patients with the secondary role of increasing awareness in the dialysis community. The group is open to most outpatient dialysis facilities throughout the United States and other community partners. Facilities that participate get access to best practices from experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and from others who are directly applying safety precautions in their own clinic. Members also have the ability meet in-person and over the phone on monthly calls, have [...]
Welcome Letter
Welcome to the DPC Education Center (The Center)! You have arrived here because you are a patient, a family member, a provider, a friend of the kidney community or you accidently discovered us on the internet. No matter how or why, we are pleased to have you here and hope that you make this a site that you frequent regularly. The Center Is incorporated as a new 501 C3, non-profit affiliate organization of the Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC). For those of you not aware of DPC, it is a member based non-profit organization, dedicated to improving the lives of dialysis patients. The Center expands the mission of DPC by empowering kidney patients through education, improving [...]
Setting up Your Home Dialysis Unit without Feeling like You’re Living in an ICU: Setting Up With Safety First
By Linda Gromko, MD and Jane C. McClure Some people won’t consider home dialysis because they worry they won’t be able to handle an emergency that might arise. We appreciate these concerns, but know that thinking and planning ahead can help you dialyze at home with greater comfort and safety than in a professional center. Remember that at home, your “patient” is the only patient. Infection risk is greatly reduced because of that factor alone. Nobody cares more about the quality and safety of your dialysis than you do! Besides, if the professionals at the center are dealing with another situation, they cannot give you the one-on-one consideration that you and your partner require. Will [...]
The DPC Education Center Inaugural Gala Update
Preparations for the DPC Education Center’s Inaugural Gala scheduled for Tuesday, March 11, 2014 are in full swing. Our venue is 101 Constitution Avenue, NW in Washington, DC. The rooftop terrace offers a spectacular panorama of downtown with the crown jewel, the Capitol building, at the forefront. You won’t find a more beautiful vantage point. The fundraiser will start with a red carpet “step and repeat.” Our professional photographer will be on hand to preserve the memories of the evening. After a meet and greet session with background music by a popular local jazz pianist, we will proceed to enjoy a sit-down dinner catered by Charlie Palmer Steak House. There will be a short presentation [...]
Setting up Your Home Dialysis Unit without Feeling like You’re Living in an ICU: Top Ten Considerations to Get You Started
By Linda Gromko, MD and Jane C. McClure Home dialysis offers unparalleled advantages for many kidney patients. Yet, living with home dialysis can make a family feel like they’re living in an Intensive Care Unit! It’s easy to get discouraged or overwhelmed. We (Linda, the doctor, and Jane, the designer) are here to help you set up your home dialysis unit so that your life is as comfortable and as convenient as it can be. Over the next few months, we’ll bring you a number of practical tips and guidelines that can help you live well with dialysis – without feeling like it’s taking over your whole life! Why do we care? Because we are strong [...]
“Fistula First” Keeps Life-saving Options Open!
Linda Gromko By Linda G., M.D. — Guest Blogger Check Out Recent CDC Recommendations on Reducing Infections The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced in May 2013 results from a multi-center study on prevention of bloodstream infections in dialysis patients. The problem is enormous: during the study, 37,000 infections occurred in dialysis patients with central lines, at a cost of over $23,000 per admission. Dialysis patients also have a greater risk of contracting infections with resistant bacteria such as MRSA – and developing accompanying complications such as endocarditis (heart valve infection) and osteomyelitis (bone infection). Not to mention a significant mortality risk! According to CDC Director Tom Frieden, MD, MPH, [...]
Legislation That Could Increase Access to Kidney Transplants
Recently, two bills relating to kidney and organ transplants have been introduced in Congress. The Comprehensive Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Kidney Transplant Patients Act of 2013 (S. 323) in the Senate and a companion bill (H.R. 1325) in the House. If passed, these bills will extend Medicare immunosuppressive drug coverage for kidney transplant patients under 65 years old for the life of the graft. Under current law, Medicare beneficiaries who are under 65, and therefore only eligible for Medicare due to their ESRD diagnosis, lose Medicare coverage 3 years after their transplant. Without the immunosuppressive drugs, the body will reject the transplant and a patient must go back on dialysis. Currently, these drugs cost about [...]
Maintaining Mental Health After a Kidney Transplant
Mental health is just as important as physical health and the two go hand in hand. This shift of considering individual health as a whole mind body experience is refreshing, but the idea still needs to spread and build from a definition into a cultural mindset. Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) know that the numbers on the machine or lab printout don’t tell the entire story. Research has shown that the death rate from chronic disease such as heart disease and diabetes is two to three times greater for people living with mental illnesses.[1] As you can see having a chronic condition can greatly impact your mental state and [...]
Pairing Networks for Kidney Donation
Finding out that you need a new kidney can be devastating news. After the initial shock wears off, friends and family members graciously get screened and sometimes there is a good match, but sometimes there isn’t. It might seem like awful news, but focus back on the positives. You are still eligible to get a transplant and can still get an organ from a deceased donor. Oh wait there are still some new and exciting options available! Recently, pairing networks have been set up that give you even more options. The idea for creating these networks came from looking at the long wait list times and thinking that there must be a better way to [...]
Getting Listed on Multiple Transplant Waiting Lists
There are ways to help decrease your wait time for a kidney transplant even if you don’t have a living donor. One option is being listed on multiple transplant waiting lists at two or more centers. The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) has a really in depth resource available here. Being listed in multiple places helps by giving you access to more kidneys than are available to just your transplant center. Each transplant center gives first priority to those closest to their center, but being on the list could get you a transplant sooner if local candidates with the same amount of wait time aren’t good candidates for a donor organ. It is up to [...]
Your Diet After A Kidney Transplant
After you receive a transplant, it is possible that many of the diet restrictions you had during dialysis will disappear. This however, doesn’t mean that proper nutrition is any less important. Also, if you have other conditions like hypertension and diabetes, you will need to continue following those diet restrictions. Diet and proper nutrition become even more important because some of the immunosuppressants can also increase blood sugar levels leading to an increased risk of diabetes and increase your appetite. Also, even though many of your dialysis related restrictions go away, there are still things that you should keep doing. These are items that should continue to be limited in your diet. Processed foods Sodium [...]
How to Ask for a Living Donor
Asking someone to give you a kidney is not an easy thing to do. Although it is scary, the worst case scenario is that your friends and family won’t be able to be a donor. Some of you will have no problem asking and the process will be very smooth while others will be nervous to approach others with this request. A few tips to make it easier are: Educate friends and family members about your disease and how a transplant works Think about providing information and the opportunity to connect more than just asking Don’t pressure anyone and allow your potential donors to volunteer or decline Provide additional details to those that are [...]
Are You Cut Out to Do Home Dialysis?
By Dr. Linda Gromko, MD, Guest Blogger Hi my name is Dr. Linda Gromko and I am a Seattle family practice physician who assisted my husband Steve Williams with both hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis for three-and-a-half years before his death in April 2011. In coordination with interior designer Jane C. McClure, I wrote Arranging Your Life When Dialysis Comes Home: “The Underwear Factor’ and two other books about my family’s experience with ESRD. Last month, I discussed the advantages of doing dialysis at home. There’s no doubt that home dialysis – both hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis – offer the opportunity for more personal flexibility and control. But it isn’t for everyone. If you’ve already said, [...]
What is Palliative Care?
Palliative care is a pretty encompassing term. The World Health Organization defines it is an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problem associated with life-threatening illness. It accomplishes this through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual. When thinking about palliative care: provides relief from pain and other related symptoms affirms life and regards dying as a process of life intends neither to hasten or postpone death integrates the psychological and spiritual aspects of patient care offers a support system to help patients live as actively as possible until death offers a support system [...]
