A Career and Dialysis Become a Way of Life

2024-03-28T20:57:39-04:00February 1st, 2023|Categories: Dialysis, Employment, eNews, Hemodialysis, In-Center Hemodialysis, Physical Health|

By Gene Blankenship, DPC Board Member I was 42 years old when I crashed into dialysis, though my family obviously knew about my kidney disease. I also worked full time and so the next step was to tell my employer, OPEA. I cannot compliment my employer enough. From the second I told my Supervisor and our Executive Director it was, as the cool kids say, "cake". First words out of their collective mouths were "How can we help?'  My doctor and I had already discussed what I could do while still keeping my health a priority. This made [...]

Just a Dad with Kidney Disease

2024-03-28T20:57:40-04:00January 11th, 2023|Categories: Dialysis, eNews, In-Center Hemodialysis, Kidney Transplant, Quality of Life|

By Gene Blankenship, DPC Board Member Being a dad with kidney disease is something that I never imagined when I was younger.  Actually, I never once pictured myself as a person who would be challenged by kidney failure, even though I watched my dad "Big Gene" struggle with end stage renal failure all my life until his death when I was 12 years old. Now, my weeks each have an automatic 16 hours at the dialysis center (20 hours with travel) during “prime time” completely scheduled for me until I receive a transplant.  Those 20 hours are the perfect [...]

COVID is Surging Again

2024-03-28T20:57:40-04:00January 4th, 2023|Categories: eNews, Immunizations, Physical Health|Tags: |

We are now at the end of the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic and once again in a winter surge. According to data from the CDC, hospitalizations have surpassed what was seen this past summer and for people 60 or older – the group most vulnerable to more severe infection, that number has drastically increased since mid-November. In part, this latest surge can be attributed to XBB.1.5, the latest Omicron subvariant, which has evolved to be better at evading immunity from both vaccination and previous infection. There are other factors that play into the surge though, including time of year [...]

Recipe of the Month: One-Pot Chicken and Dumplings

2024-03-28T20:57:41-04:00January 1st, 2023|Categories: eNews, Recipe of the Month, Recipes|

Get a brand new, kidney-friendly recipe* delivered to your inbox each month, courtesy of Jessianna Saville, MS, RDN, CSR, LD, CLT, a member of the Ed Center Advisory Council and Founder & CEO of the Kidney Nutrition Institute. Our featured recipe for January is the perfect cozy meal for winter weather: One-Pot Chicken and Dumplings Recipe created by The KidneyRD Team Ingredients Makes 6 servings 5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter divided 1 small yellow onion minced 1 stalk celery thinly sliced 2 carrots diced medium 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour divided 3 cups low sodium chicken broth **see note 1 1/2 cups diced [...]

Reducing Mortality Risk Through Physical Activity – Is There an Activity Pattern That is Best?

2024-03-28T20:57:42-04:00December 6th, 2022|Categories: eNews, Lifestyle, Physical Health, Staying Healthy|

Can you get the mortality risk reduction benefits being a “weekend warrior” instead of just regularly active? A recent systematic review and meta-analysis of four published cohort studies on the topic suggest just that. The four studies, published between 2004 and 2022, totaled 426,428 participants (weighted mean age, 44.5 years) and looked at the relationships between different physical activity patterns and the risk for adverse CVD outcomes. “Weekend warrior,” which is one or two sessions per week, “regularly active,” which is multiple sessions spread out over the week, and inactive were all looked at to see if weekend warrior and regularly [...]

Recipe of the Month: Kidney-Friendly Ginger Cookies

2024-03-28T20:57:43-04:00December 2nd, 2022|Categories: eNews, Recipe of the Month, Recipes|

Get a brand new, kidney-friendly recipe* delivered to your inbox each month, courtesy of Jessianna Saville, MS, RDN, CSR, LD, CLT, a member of the Ed Center Advisory Council and Founder & CEO of the Kidney Nutrition Institute. December’s recipe is here just in time for the holidays: Kidney-Friendly Ginger Cookies Recipe created by Jessianna Saville, MS, RDN, CSR, LD, CLT Ingredients Makes 24 cookies 2-1/4 cups all-purpose white flour 2 teaspoons ground ginger 1 teaspoon baking soda 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 3/4 cup butter 1-1/8 cups granulated sugar 2 egg whites 1/4 cup honey Instructions Preheat oven to [...]

Improving Pregnancy Outcomes for Women on Dialysis or with a Kidney Transplant

2024-03-28T20:57:43-04:00December 1st, 2022|Categories: Dialysis, eNews, Kidney Transplant, Physical Health|

New research suggests that pregnancy outcomes are improving for women on dialysis or with a kidney transplant. Hayet Baouche, MPH, of APHP-Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital, REIN Registry in Paris, France and colleagues reported in Clinical Kidney Journal that from 2010 – 2020, the frequency women on dialysis becoming pregnant increased. There was a decrease in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and polyhydramnios, as well as lower rates of neonatal and perinatal deaths compared to previous decades, likely attributed to advancements in obstetric and neonatal care, and progress in fetal monitoring and dialysis treatments. A systematic review of 14 retrospective and prospective studies [...]

Recipe of the Month: Cauliflower Potato Salad

2024-03-28T20:57:44-04:00November 9th, 2022|Categories: eNews, Nutrition, Recipe of the Month, Recipes|

Get a brand new, kidney-friendly recipe* delivered to your inbox each month, courtesy of Jessianna Saville, MS, RDN, CSR, LD, CLT, a member of the Ed Center Advisory Council and Founder & CEO of the Kidney Nutrition Institute. November’s recipe would be a great addition  to a Thanksgiving spread: Cauliflower Potato Salad Recipe created by The KidneyRD Team Ingredients: Makes 6 servings 1 large russet potato peeled, cubed into 1/2" cubes (about 1 Cup) 1 medium head of cauliflower cut into small florets (about 4 1/2 Cups) 3/4 cup vegan mayonnaise 1 dill pickle chopped (about 1/2 cup) 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 2 tablespoons dried dill or 4 tablespoons [...]

Say What? Hearing Aids Available Over-the-Counter for as Low as $199, and Without a Prescription

2024-03-28T20:57:45-04:00November 9th, 2022|Categories: eNews, Quality of Life|

By Phil Galewitz October 17, 2022 Starting Monday, consumers will be able to buy hearing aids directly off store shelves and at dramatically lower prices as a 2017 federal law finally takes effect. Where for decades it cost thousands of dollars to get a device that could be purchased only with a prescription from an audiologist or other hearing professional, now a new category of over-the-counter aids are selling for hundreds of dollars. Walmart says it will sell a hearing aid for as little as $199. The over-the-counter aids are intended for adults with mild to moderate hearing loss — a [...]

The Case for Personalized Kidney Screening for People with Type 1 Diabetes

2024-03-28T20:57:46-04:00November 3rd, 2022|Categories: Diagnosis of Kidney Disease, eNews, Physical Health|

A new analysis by the Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications study group (funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health) makes a strong case for taking a more personalized approach to screening people with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) for kidney disease. New findings suggest that urinary albumin excretion rate (AER) could be personalized to individuals with T1D to decrease costs and increase the rate of early detection. People with T1D have about a 50% risk of developing chronic kidney disease (CKD) over their lifetime; if individuals who are [...]

Go to Top