5/1 New KDIGO Methods Committee

KDIGO seeks volunteers and nominations for membership in their new Methods Comittee, which will be a small group providing oversight and guidance to future guideline work groups and evidence review teams.  It will also help to codify KDIGO’s processes in a Methods Manual.  It will report to the Executive Committee through its chair, who holds an ex officio Executive Committee seat.  Qualified candidates should have experience with guideline methodology, the GRADE System, and the appraisal and rating of evidence in guidelines.  The focus will be on scientific rigor and the needs of clinicians caring for kidney patients around the world.  The Committee will meet once each year and have conference calls to conduct its work.  If you’re interested, email kdigocommunications@kdigo.org by May 1, 2019.  KDIGO will choose five to seven experts who will be invited to join its Methods Committee.  For details see https://kdigo.org/call-for-methods-committee-nominations/.

4/5 DFC Technical Expert Panel Nominations

CMS has commissioned UM-KECC to assemble 10-20 volunteers for a Technical Expert Panel (TEP) to formulate a process for periodically resetting ESRD clinical quality Star-Rating criteria so that the Ratings continue to differentiate facility quality of care when treatment-quality trends reduce the variation between facilities.  Volunteers will include patients, caregivers, ESRD subject matter experts, methodologists, and specialists working on dialysis QI and healthcare disparities.  The TEP will require a one-day in-person meeting in Baltimore in June, plus 3-7 conference calls before and after.  Nominations must be submitted by April 5, 2019.  The current call for nominations doesn’t mention it, but past TEPs have reimbursed travel expenses.  For details and nomination forms, see https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/MMS/TEP-Currently-Accepting-Nominations.html#a0305.

NW16 11/11 NKF/PKG Holiday Party

NKF and the Portland Kidney Group will hold their Annual Holiday Party on November 11, 2018.  Light kidney-friendly food and drinks will be provided, so you need only bring your family, your friends, and your appetite.  However, please RSVP before November 4 with the number of people you expect to bring, so an appropriate amount of food can be stocked!  A renal dietitian will talk about hearty but kidney-friendly holiday cooking.  Volunteers to help with the Party will be welcomed.  Find all the details you’ll need at https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/nwrn.org/files/N/PKG/PKG.Holiday.Party.2018.pdf.

NW16 10/4+ NWRD Conference, NWCRN News

NWRD Conference

Northwest Renal Dietitians have announced their 2019 Annual Conference, to be held March 7-8, 2019 in Portland OR.  Topics intended so far include cardiac dysfunction, change motivation, diabetes management, and an evening networking event.  For details see https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/412302_a994fa9b56104e058440b04e5eeab527.pdf.

• Online-only registration will be January 15-February 15, 2019, with a late fee after February 15; see https://www.nwrdonline.org/registration.
• Until December 31, 2018:
  • Abstracts for poster presentations can be submitted to https://www.nwrdonline.org/abstracts
  • Sponsors and exhibitors can apply at https://www.nwrdonline.org/sponsor-exhibitor
  • Aspiring attendees can apply for scholarships after November 15, 2018 at https://www.nwrdonline.org/scholarships
• Room discounts at the Conference venue will be available until February 15, 2019; see https://www.nwrdonline.org/accommodations for details.

To follow all Conference details as they develop, see https://www.nwrdonline.org/conference-overview.  Volunteers are welcome and appreciated.  NWRD includes renal dietitians from British Columbia, as well as the five Network 16 states.  There is no NWRD membership fee.

NKF Council on Renal Nutrition News

The Washington State Council on Renal Nutrition and the Oregon Council on Renal Nutrition, regional affiliates of the NKF Council on Renal Nutrition, are merging by January 1, 2019 to become the Northwest Council on Renal Nutrition, NWCRN.  NWCRN will be open to all renal dietitians in Network 16 – Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska.  The Oregon Council has closed, and until the new NWCRN website is available, any Network 16 dietitian may join the Washington State Council, at https://sites.google.com/site/washrenalnutrition/home/membership.

The Washington State Council holds bimonthly meetings, the last two of which in 2018 will be held in Seattle or by webinar on:

• October 4, 2018 – Alkali Treatment in CKD
• December 5, 2018 – Research for Dietitians

For more information see https://sites.google.com/site/washrenalnutrition/home, or email washcrn@gmail.com.  Volunteers are welcome and appreciated.  Handouts and minutes from past meetings are available at https://sites.google.com/site/washrenalnutrition/past-meetings.

NW16 8/14+ Donate Life NW Volunteers

Donate Life Northwest is dedicated to helping transplant candidates maintain hope while waiting for an available matching kidney.  They offer training to volunteers for various situations.  Their upcoming training, volunteering, and celebration schedule includes:

• August 14, 2018 – School Speaker training in Portland OR
• August 15, 2018 – Volunteer Orientation in Bend OR
• August 16, 2018 – School Speaker training in Portland OR
• September 4, 2018 – Volunteer Orientation in Portland OR
• September 8, 2018 – Volunteer Opportunity in Vancouver WA
• September 8, 2018 – Donor Family Picnic in Salem OR
• September 13, 2018 – School Speaker training in Eugene OR
• September 13, 2018 – Volunteer Orientation in Eugene OR
• September 16, 2018 – Volunteer Opportunity in Portland OR
• September 23, 2018 – Volunteer Opportunity in Portland OR
• November 7, 2018 – Lifesavers Breakfast

For more details, see https://mailchi.mp/donatelifenw.org/sharing-hope-this-summer.  This web page also introduces their new Latino Outreach Coordinator, Donor stories in English and Spanish, winners of their recent raffle, and information on including Donate Life Northwest in your estate, insurance, or financial plans.

NW16 4/19+ Portland Kidney Walk/Run

Mark your calendar for the Tabor Trot fun walk/run and gathering the morning of May 26 at beautiful Mt.Tabor Park on the Saturday before Memorial Day.  See past photos, video, more information, and register at http://www.tabortrot.com/.  We’ve already posted information on other Donate Life Northwest events in Portland (April 22, May 7) and Medford OR (April 11-15); for details see our Patient Calendar at the link above.  Donate Life Northwest has also recently added four new Portland volunteer opportunities:

• May 19, 2018: Tabling at OHSU (see https://www.donatelifenw.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=8410)
• May 25, 2018: Tabling at VA Hospital (see https://www.donatelifenw.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=8411)
• May 10 and 14, 2018: Training for Tabor Trot volunteers (see https://www.donatelifenw.org/news-and-events/calendar)

Donate Life has also provided details on their 2018 raffle – winners will be vacationing in Maui, Baja California, Santa Fe NM, Lake Tahoe NV, or Seaside OR – see https://www.donatelifenw.org/content/annual-raffle.  For a summary of and links to all this news, see https://mailchi.mp/donatelifenw.org/april-donate-lifeline?e=d7486be0ed.

 

NW16 2/24+ Erase the Wait Portland

The Erase the Wait program will present a training in Portland OR for volunteer transplant mentors on February 24, 2018, and for CKD and dialysis patients on March 18, March 25, and April 1, 2018.  For details see https://www.erasethewait.org/about, the graphic below, and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGkYnpQpgMM.

Previous Erase the Date mentor and mentee participants are invited to a reunion in Portland on March 14, 2018; for details see https://www.donatelifenw.org/civicrm/event/info?id=8390&reset=1.

Discounted ticket sales for Donate Life Northwest’s Family Night Trailblazers basketball game March 30, 2018 in Portland close on February 26, 2018.