Interview with Jennifer St. Clair Russell – Director of Public and Professional Education Programs

The mission of the American Kidney Fund is to fight kidney disease through direct financial support to patients in need, health education, and prevention efforts.

When asked what drew the AKF to join the coalition, Jen stated, “The American Kidney Fund supports the Coalition’s mission to encourage the prevention, detection and appropriate treatment of CKD, to share best practices with health care providers and between organizations, and to spread awareness and education among those with and at risk for CKD.   We believe that each organization on its own can make great strides in the prevention, detection and treatment of CKD, but  that through the collaboration of multiple organizations with varying resources and experiences, we can make far greater strides.”

The benefit to the AKF’s participation in the coalition can be described in this way:

Participating in the Coalition helps expand the American Kidney Fund’s reach among patients and providers in Florida.  It also helps us to form partnerships that can better enable us to make a lasting difference in Florida and potentially, through future efforts, in other states.

Information from the coalition links the AKF to the education and screening events occurring in Florida. Sharing this information within their organization enables the AKF to enhance the efforts in Florida, rather than duplicating them. Jen hopes to become even more involved in 2010.

The AKF offers many opportunities for education for both patients and providers. 

·           A toll-free Helpline to answer CKD questions  for patients and the general public

·           Online course for primary care providers

·           A series of brochures and fact sheets

·           “Take Charge" wallet card to track important blood test results

·           Experience screening for CKD and its risk factors

Here is a link to their website: American Kidney Fund (AKF) - Kidney Disease Programs and Services 

The history of the AKF represents a grass roots effort that has grown to reach 1 in 5 dialysis patients. The AKF began in 1971 through the effort of a small group of friends to raise funds for the cost of one dialysis patient’s treatment.  Today, the AKF serves tens of thousands of patients each year via financial assistance, and information and prevention efforts. Jen is pleased to see how the organization has grown in 38 years, expanding its services to reaching out to more people than ever before.  Jen states, “We look forward to continuing to grow and making an even larger impact in the prevention, detection, and treatment of CKD.”

According to findings presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Nephrology in San Diego and reported at upi.com, primary care physicians are failing to diagnose chronic kidney disease, especially in women.

Study leader, Dr. Maya Rao of Columbia University in New York says primary care doctors typically order a blood test called creatinine to measure kidney function, but this alone is not a particularly accurate measure of kidney function.  The serum creatinine should also be plugged into a formula that gives an estimated kidney filtration rate -- called glomerular filtration rate -- which is a much more accurate estimate of kidney function.  To read the entire article, click here.

The CKD Project offers many free resources on eGFR including:

• eGFR Slide Rule Calculator
• GFR Tracking and Trending Tool
• How Well Are Your Kidneys Working
• Multi-Tasking GFR Results for CKD Detection, Tracking, Treatment and Patient Self-Management PPT.