RSN in Action During Kidney Month 2009

In celebration of World Kidney Day on March 12, 2009 and all month long in March as National Kidney Awareness Month, RSN and the patient advocates of the Wellness and Education Kidney Advocacy Network (weKAN) of the Renal Support Network across the country were engaged in activities in their local communities to bring awareness and understanding of the complicated issue of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD).

Who Lives? played for three weeks in March at the Pico Playhouse in Los Angeles, California. The play, which received plenty of media coverage and great reviews, is a fictional account of the life and death committee, which in the 1960s decided who would get life saving dialysis.

Lori Hartwell and Stephen Furst interviewed celebrities for KidneyTalk  at the Keep It Hollywood NKF of Southern California event on March 12, World Kidney Day. George and Anne Lopez were among the stars spreading awareness while others were getting screened.

RSN members participated on a patient panel and had an exhibit table at the Building Bridges for Optimum Health for CKD Conference at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, California. The event was organized by Drew University, RAND Corporation and Healthy African American Families to reach out to the community at risk for kidney disease.

The RSN Causes membership on facebook multiplied in the month of March as people became increasingly aware of kidney disease and the important role of HOPE.

Stephanie, the advocate in Pittsburgh, PA held a Kidney Day Education Forum where representatives of the local Organ Transplant Organization, CORE, Medicare, treatment providers and the ESRD Network that oversees treatment facilities in the region all spoke to people about the warning signs OF CKD, diagnosis and treatment modalities.

Other individuals, such as Julie Siegel from Missouri and Denise Eilers from Iowa, participated in doing legislative advocacy in their states’ capitals, impressing upon their elected representatives the importance of maintaining access to good quality health care for renal patients, especially with the current economic climate.

Still others, such as Bill Peckham of Washington, created a grassroots online petition to work towards increasing the frequency of treatments available to patients, to allow better health and longevity.

And some, like Oliver Hale, a gifted chef by profession, created culinary demonstrations to help renal patients learn to eat well and healthily under the constraints of their diet.

A number of advocates, like Drew Thomas of Virginia, worked hard to get the word out in media articles and features, talking about their lives and experiences to the benefit of others.

Of course, the advocacy efforts continue all year long and some of the weKAN patient advocates were in fact recognized and awarded commendations by their own communities in observance of World Kidney Day for their efforts in educating and enlightening their communities, such as Jim Dineen of Ohio.  

Proclamations
RSN representatives across the country were recognized by their local government officials with proclamations marking the occasion, and noting the scope and gravity of the problem of CKD.

Some of the towns are listed below:

ü West Palm Beach, Florida
ü Glendale, California
ü Davenport, Iowa
ü Indianapolis, Indiana
ü Little Rock, Arkansas
ü Albany, New York
ü Greensboro, North Carolina