Mike Bronson has been a renal patient for 32 years and currently has a transplant. Mike is a member of the Medical Review Board as well as the Patient Advisory Council. His advice for other patients is, “Stay positive, comply with doctors’ orders, eat right, exercise and be good stewards of all that you have.” Mike says that being on the Boards gives him an opportunity to give back, even in a small way, so that others might be blessed. 
March is National Kidney Month and March 14th is World Kidney Day!

Nearly 850 million people globally have chronic kidney disease (CKD), leading to a minimum of 2.4 million deaths each year. In Network 12’s four-state service area, more than 4,550 patients began dialysis in 2018.

National Kidney Month is part of an international campaign that raises awareness about the severity of CKD and importance of kidneys to a person’s overall health. World Kidney Day, celebrated March 14, encourages everyone to adopt a healthy lifestyle throughout their life. Many types of kidney diseases are preventable and can be kept under control by changing unhealthy lifestyle behaviors.

Network 12 offers several helpful educational resources for staff and patients:

Network 12’s website is a great place to start. Facility patient engagement information, facility education, a resource library, My Kidney Kit, and the link to ESRD.Providers.Exchange are helpful tools available on the website. On the Network’s website, you can also find the links to past and future webinars. The webinars are a great way to interact with the Network and ask any questions you may have.

Network 12’s Facebook page allows followers to stay up to date on the Network’s recent activities and to find helpful information regarding kidney care. The page includes a wide spectrum of information by providing links to websites that share tips on proper renal diets, how to empower patients, and other beneficial tips and tricks developed for both the patient and provider education.
Register Today!
2nd Annual Transplant Symposium March 28, 2019 in Omaha, NE.  
This symposium aspires to bring together staff from dialysis facilities, transplant centers, organ procurement organizations (OPOs), and nephrology practices to discuss barriers to patients progressing through transplant evaluation to the waiting list. .

 Date: Thursday March 28, 2019
Time: 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. CDT
March Patient Engagement Action: Share what your wishes are for your care needs--now and in the future.

This month, “Be Active in your Care” patient engagement calendar topic is “My Plan: My Wishes” thus focusing on encouraging patients to be involved in their plan of care and to consider advance directives.

Use the “ My Plan: My Wishes” Topic of the Month sheet to identify resources that would be helpful to improve the Plan of Care process at your clinic; educate patients on Advance Directives and consider ways to acknowledge patient transitions. 

You can also check out the Patient Engagement Showcase to see bulletin board ideas shared by dialysis facility staff from throughout the Network.

You can find all these patient engagement resources HERE.
Plan Ahead for April - Transplant Awareness Month! 

Review the resources and activities on the topic “My Choices: Talk Transplant”. The “My Choices: Talk Transplant” topic sheet has resources on transplant and organ donation as well as ideas on how to use the resource to develop a patient engagement activity.

The topic sheet has a variety of resources, so we encourage you to work with your Network Patient Representative (NPR) to discuss what information and activities they think would be most helpful to the patients at your facility.
Patient Engagement in ACTION!
DCI Booneville’s Clinic Manager, Mindy Monnig, RN shared how they have taken the “My Network: Speak Up and Get Involved” Topic of the Month sheet information and put it into action. The facility’s two Network Patient Representatives (NPR’s) Jennifer and Maryette helped to develop some bulletin boards on Patient Rights and Responsibilities. Thanks for sharing your great work! 
March NPR Connection Calls
March NPR Connection Call, “Ten Minute Topic” will be My Choices: Talk Transplant.

Date: March 14 and/or March 15
Time: 1 p.m. CT
You can also join the webinar by calling 1-888-537-7715 and use access code 885-90-323# .

The goal of these calls is to provide an opportunity for NPRs to connect with the Network and each other, share ideas, and learn what they can do at their clinic to improve the patient experience at their clinics. NPR Connection Call Schedule for 2019
Incorporating Person and Family Engagement in Your Dialysis Facility
The Network encourages all facilities to review the webinar and consider how they can utilize the Network resources to support your facility level patient engagement activities. This webinar reviews person and family engagement by defining patient engagement and sharing the resources the Network has developed to support the CMS goals for facility level patient engagement.
Resource Highlight
Renal Support Network’s Health Library
RSN's kidney disease Health Library is a resource for patients, family members and professionals. The Health Library is easy to navigate with a collection of patient- friendly articles and renal-friendly recipes. Several articles are available in Spanish. Here are some great articles that pertain to the Network’s four Quality Improvement Activities (QIAs):
Best Practices for Collecting and Addressing Anonymous Grievances
Although all patients have the right to file a grievance without fear of reprisal or denial of services, some patients may still not feel comfortable. One of the requirements for an internal grievance process is that patients are provided with an option to file a grievance anonymously.

We encourage facility staff to watch the ESRD NCC Patient Experience of Care (PEOC) Learning and Action Network (LAN) recording to get some great ideas and 1.0 CEU.
What can you do to improve the patient experience at your clinic?

Click on the link below to view the recording and learn best practices and strategies to improve the anonymous grievance process.
Culpepper Exum Scholarship for People with Kidney Disease
This scholarship is intended to help one deserving dialysis or transplant patient from each state, Kansas and Missouri, attend any post-secondary accredited educational or vocational program. The award is for $1,000 per scholarship for one school year paid directly to the institution. Click here for more information.
Explore Transplant Training Event in St. Louis
Who Should Attend:
Renal professionals who want to:
  • Enhance your transplant and living donation knowledge
  • Learn strategies to increase waitlists at your center

Continuing Education credits for nurses, technicians, dietitians and social workers.

Cost:  $25 includes registration fees, continental breakfast, lunch and CEUs.

Date:  Friday, April 26
Time:  8 a.m. - 4 p.m. CT

Where:
Mid-America Transplant
1110 Highlands Plaza Drive E #1000
St. Louis, MO 63110

Questions?
Christina Goalby |  email
Ari Hariston |  314-361-9400
The ESRD QIP: What Every Facility Should Know

The National Forum of ESRD Networks, in collaboration with the 18 ESRD Networks, invites you to join us for a FREE educational webinar.

Thursday: April 10, 2019
Time: 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM CDT

Presenters Andrew Howard, MD, FACP, Past-President of the Forum and Derek Forfang, Chair, Forum's Kidney Patient Advisory Council will provide a comprehensive overview of the ESRD Quality Incentive Program and practical guidance on interpreting and sharing the QIP Performance Score Certificate with your kidney patients. Space is limited to 1000 attendees for the live webinar, however, the webinar will be recorded and available on the Forum website ( www. esrdnetworks .org ) following the event.
CDC Making Dialysis Safer Webinar

CDC’s Free Webinar with CE’s: Making Dialysis Safer for Patients: Optimal Vascular Access

Thursday: March 14, 2019
Time: 1:00 - 2:00 PM CDT

Join us this World Kidney Day for a presentation on “Incident Vascular Access and Risk of Bloodstream Infection Among New ESRD Patients Receiving Hemodialysis” followed by a conversation about achieving optimal vascular access for patient safety. 
End Stage Renal Disease National Coordinating Center Quality Improvement Activity Learning and Action Networks (ESRD NCC QIA LAN)
 
The ESRD NCC hosts a series of calls based on topics of the CMS Quality Improvement Activities (QIAs). These include: Blood Stream Infection (BSI), Home Modality, Transplant, and Depression. ALL ESRD facilities will receive invitations to these meetings because improving the lives of dialysis patients in these areas is a global goal. The expectation is that project facilities join these calls but the calls are optional for non-participating facilities. Please also share these calls with your patients.
 
If you have questions, please call the Network office at 816-880-9990 . 
 
Upcoming Calls
  • March 19 | Increase Transplant Waitlist QIA LAN Call | 2-3 p.m. CT | Register

Links to Previous Calls
TMF Health Quality Institute Announces new CKD Video
For National Kidney Month in March, TMF’s Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) Special Innovation Project (SIP) has released an online video module in English and Spanish on CKD to support individuals who are 65 years or older; a flyer with details is available here . 
New Guidance on Immediate Jeopardy is Available for Surveyors
NHSN Reminders

NHSN is the nation’s most widely used healthcare-associated infection tracking system.

NHSN provides facilities, states, regions, and the nation with data needed to identify problem areas, measure progress of prevention efforts, and ultimately eliminate healthcare-associated infections.

Want more information? Questions?

Click on these links: 
NHSN Training Needs Assessment

The NHSN Dialysis team has developed a Training Needs Assessment to gather NHSN Dialysis Event Module user feedback on training needs, knowledge of Dialysis Event reporting, and use of the available training and education resources.

The assessment is completely anonymous, and completing the assessment will take approximately 10-15 minutes. T he survey will remain open through May 31st, 2019.
REMEMBER: NHSN Data Deadlines
Facilities should:

Contact the NHSN Helpdesk ( [email protected] , subject line ‘Dialysis’) with any questions.
This resource was developed while under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Contract #HHSM-500-2016-00012C. The contents presented do not necessarily reflect CMS policy. 19.Q-ESRD12.03.046