November is Family Caregiver Month

2024-03-28T21:01:39-04:00November 22nd, 2016|Categories: eNews, Uncategorized|

By Kathi Niccum, EdD, Education Director of DPC Education Center Let’s celebrate our caregivers this month! Hopefully, we will tell them often how much they mean to us and how much we appreciate their help, yet November is a time to make it “extra special.” For some, their caregiver is a spouse, a daughter or son, a sibling, or a special friend. Our informal caregivers (unpaid folks who assist with activities of daily living and/or medical tasks) help with so many tasks including transportation, medication reminders, doctor visits, coordination of health care, advocacy, and they provide personal emotional support. Caregivers make [...]

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

2024-03-28T21:01:42-04:00October 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 [...]

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 [...]

Bone and Mineral Disease Patient Education Call on June 16

2024-03-28T21:06:15-04:00May 28th, 2015|Categories: eNews, News & Events, Uncategorized, Webinar|Tags: , |

The DPC Education Center will hold an educational conference call on bone and mineral metabolism (BMM) disease on Tuesday, June 16 at 3pm Eastern Standard Time (EST). Chronic kidney disease patients sometimes experience BMM problems, and many dialysis patients also have some form of BMM disorder. If BMM disease is left untreated, you may suffer severe bone pain, joint pain and fractures. In addition, lack of control over minerals in your vascular system increases the risk of heart disease. Dr. Mehul Raval will provide tips on what you can do to help control your phosphorus, calcium and parathyroid hormone levels to [...]

Setting up Your Home Dialysis Unit without Feeling like You’re Living in an ICU: Setting Up With Safety First

2024-03-28T21:06:37-04:00December 9th, 2013|Categories: Uncategorized|

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, [...]

Setting up Your Home Dialysis Unit without Feeling like You’re Living in an ICU: Top Ten Considerations to Get You Started

2024-03-28T21:06:38-04:00November 7th, 2013|Categories: Uncategorized|

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 [...]

Go to Top