HDC Blog Post on Dialysis, Travel, and COVID-19

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Home Dialysis Central has added a post to their blog called Dialysis Travel During the COVID-19 Pandemic.  It’s important for dialysis patients to know and accept that they are at higher risk for serious complications if they get COVID-19, because they have kidney failure.  This is true for any ESRD patient, not just those who are 65 or older.  According to CMS, during the first half of 2020 Medicare patients on dialysis were more than twice as vulnerable to COVID-19 infection compared to non-dialysis Medicare patients, and more than four times as likely to require hospitalization.  Find the HDC post at https://homedialysis.org/news-and-research/blog/372-dialysis-travel-during-the-covid-19-pandemic.

8/14 AAKP HealthLine on Kidney Genetics

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AAKP will present a 10am PDT 14 August 2020 HealthLine webinar on Understanding Genetic Conditions: What You Need to Know.  For individuals who may be faced with inheriting a genetic condition, it’s important to know your family history, the different ways a genetic condition can be inherited, what genetic testing entails, and how you can work with your healthcare team to help manage the condition. The audio will feature genetic counselors as well as kidney patients with genetic conditions.  Find details and register at https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/814066723276791822.

Find general information about HealthLine and recordings of earlier webinars, including their series of nine HealthLines on COVID-19 and…

  • Dialysis,
  • Transplant,
  • Vascular Access,
  • CKD,
  • Telemedicine,
  • Veterans,
  • Mental Health,
  • Nutrition, and
  • Clinical Trials,

…at https://aakp.org/programs-and-events/aakp-healthline/.

NCC COVID-19 Mental Health Handbook

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The ESRD National Coordinating Center has published a new 17-page booklet called The COVID-19 Mental Health Toolkit: Helping Renal Professionals Support the Well-Being of the ESRD Community.  It was developed by Network professionals and patient volunteers to serve as a guide for renal healthcare staff to help patients manage their well-being, and includes sections on taking action, increasing awareness, building community capacity, incorporating telemedicine, and getting ahead of the issues.  Find a copy at https://esrdncc.org/contentassets/abe8671eadac49c691c0f40eef52ef18/covid19mhtoolkit07312020508.pdf.

8/20+ Webinar on Emotional Balance

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Quality Insights (ESRD Network 5), the Coalition for Supportive Care of Kidney Patients, and the Medical Technology & Practice Patterns Institute will present a free August 20, 2020 webinar, repeating it August 26, on Maintaining Emotional Balance in an Unbalancing Time.  The webinar will discuss how providers can respond to dialysis patients and their families when they encounter hard questions and emotional distress about COVID-19, including strategies for responding to anxiety and fear, the dialysis facility as a source of stability, and ways to honor the memory of patients who have passed.  Free CE credits will be available.  Register for the August 20 session at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CSCKP8202020 or the August 26 session at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CSCKP08262020.  See below for details:

COVID-19 Compassion Fatigue Webinar Recording

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The June 22, 2020 IPRO Quality Innovation Network (ESRD Networks 1,2,6,9) webinar on COVID-19 and Compassion Fatigue (see https://nwrnbulletins.wordpress.com/category/facility-staff/burn-out/) was recorded, and is now available.  Find a recording of the webinar at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAR5M1_HZ_U, and a PDF of the slides at https://network2.esrd.ipro.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/06/COVID-19-and-Compassion-Fatigue.pdf.

8/11 NCC Webinar on COVID-19 Work Safety

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The ESRD National Coordinating Center will host a webinar at 1pm PDT August 11, 2020 on Health and Safety at Work During the COVID-19 Pandemic, presented by Comagine ESRD Network Patient Safety Director Lisa Hall and two patient Subject Matter Experts.  The webinar will provide workplace health and safety tips, review rehabilitation and employment services for people with kidney disease, and share kidney patients’ work experiences during the pandemic.  Find more details and register at https://esrdncc.org/covid-19/covid-webinars/.

Guides for Patients to Dialysis Facility Compare

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The National Forum of ESRD Networks has published introductory guides to the Dialysis Facility Compare (DFC) internet application that compares facilities on their general characteristics (such as whether they offer home dialysis or stay open after 5 pm), their quality of care (such as how they compare to other facilities on infection control), and the experience of their patients (such as whether patients found their doctors to be caring and to communicate well).

The guides describe what, why, and how a patient might use DFC.  Find them at:

Find DFC itself at https://www.medicare.gov/dialysisfacilitycompare/.

FDA Updates Toxin Sanitizer Warning

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The FDA is reporting an increase in toxic (methanol-containing) hand sanitizers and their negative consequences, including cases of blindness and death.  Find their update at https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-updates-hand-sanitizers-consumers-should-not-use.