Category Archives: Patients & Family

9/28+ CMS NTP Open Enrollment Bootcamp

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The CMS National Training Program has announced webinar topics and registation details for their September 28-29, 2022 Open Enrollment Period Bootcamp, which will be held from 10am to noon PDT each day. The Bootcamp introduces Medicare Program updates and resources and is intended for those who help Medicare recipients make informed decisions about their 2023 health care coverage.

September 28: Medicare Plan Finder basics, updates, and user tips, information about The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022, including details about new costs for insulin and vaccines in 2023, and Q&A. Registration at CMSnationaltrainingprogram.cms.gov/moodle/course/view.php?id=227.

September 29: Medicare OEP overview, general program and cost updates, OEP Media outreach campaigns, Call Center overview and activities, vaccination campaigns, State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) overview and OEP resources, and fraud awareness and prevention. Registration at CMSnationaltrainingprogram.cms.gov/moodle/course/view.php?id=228.

9/19+ Fungal Disease Awareness Week

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September 19-23, 2022 is Fungal Disease Awareness Week. CDC has published a list of ten questions that discuss the circumstances and symptoms of common fungal infections, titled Fungal Infections: Protect Your Health, also available in Spanish. For full details on Fungal Disease Awareness Week see https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/awareness-week.html.

9/17+ Patient Safety Day, Conference

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The theme of the UN World Health Organization’s September 17, 2022 World Patient Day this year is Medication Safety. Find details at https://www.who.int/news-room/events/detail/2022/09/17/default-calendar/world-patient-safety-day-2022. Closer to home, the Oregon Patient Safety Commission is also highly involved – see https://oregonpatientsafety.org/tools-and-best-practices/world-patient-safety-day-2022-medication-safety for information on their program.

OPSC is also collaborating with the Foundation for Healthcare Quality, the Washington Patient Safety Coalition and the BC Patient Safety & Quality Council to present the 19th Annual Northwest Patient Safety Conference on “Advancing Patient Safety in Today’s World,” online October 18-19, 2022. For information and registration see https://www.qualityhealth.org/wpsc/wpsc-events/patient-safety-conference/.

8/1+ UCLA CORE Chats on Transplant

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For the next three months, the UCLA Core Kidney Program Monthly Chats will be about Kidney Transplantation | What a Recipient Should Know! The August Chat will focus on pre-transplant, September on post-transplant, and October on living donor transplant. See the poster below for details, and register at https://uclahs.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GxLIlyDwSmmDssQCvBL0Xw.

Pediatric Transplant Testing Eased

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CDC has announced that the US Public Health Service Guidelines for infectious disease testing has been eased for solid organ transplant candidates less than 12 years old. Candidates who have been tested at least once since birth need no longer undergo additional testing for HIV, HCV, and HBV prior to transplant, because the risk of blood loss from testing is now deemed to be larger than the risk of infection. For full details see https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7126a2.htm.

7/25+ More Heat Warnings

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The National Weather Service is predicting hot weather in the Pacific Northwest from July 25 through July 30, 2022. High temperatures in Western Washington and Western Oregon are expected to be in the 80s in the Puget Sound region, 90s from Olympia south to Eugene, and 100s in Southern Oregon. Highs in Eastern Washington and Oregon, Northern Idaho, and Western Montana are expected to range from the 80s in the north and east, rising to the 100s in the south, lower elevations, and typically hotter locations. Type your zip code or city and state into the box in the upper left corner of https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=42.3236&lon=-122.8756 and click on “Go” for a forecast specific to your locality.

Find an overall map of the greatest danger at https://www.wrh.noaa.gov/map/?wfo=mfr; in the upper right corner, click the box for “Hazards and Warnings,” and click on “Legend” to complete the map. Navigate and zoom with your mouse and its wheel.

The NWS recommends:

“Monitor the latest forecasts and warnings for updates on this situation. Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. NEVER LEAVE CHILDREN AND PETS LEFT UNATTENDED IN VEHICLES UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES! This is especially true during warm or hot weather when car interiors can reach lethal temperatures in a matter of minutes.

“Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When possible reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing when possible. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke is an emergency! Call 911.”

For more healthcare-specific information on surviving extreme heat, see https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/nwrn.org/files/Heat/Heat/Extreme-Heat-Tip-Sheet-2022.pdf.

While a cool and wet spring has reduced the drought level in parts of the Northwest, fire danger is expected to increase with temperatures. For a map of fire danger in your area updated daily, see https://firedanger.cr.usgs.gov/viewer/index.html, using your mouse and its wheel to navigate and zoom. Green means Relatively Safe, Red means Not So Much. The largest areas of Red are in Southeastern Oregon and Southern Idaho.

6/25+ Washington Heat Warnings

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The Northwest Healthcare Response Network (NHRN) is warning that Western Washington will receive unusual hot temperatures until Monday, 27 June 2022:

More Meetings, June and Beyond

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6/21+ EQRS New Users, Town Hall, News

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EQRS will present a 90-minute June 21, 2022 New User Training. For details and registration, see https://mycrownweb.org/pcw_lems/june-2022-new-user-training/.

EQRS will also present a June 23, 2022 Town Hall event. For more information and registration, see https://globalmeetwebinar.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1551952&tp_key=16ff240327.

The June EQRS Newsletter is available at https://mycrownweb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/June-2022-Newsletter_FINAL508.pdf. This issue includes articles on

  • General EQRS Data Submission schedules,
  • The June 23, 2022 EQRS Town Hall agenda,
  • The April 27, 2022 Care Compare Dialysis Data Release,
  • The Extraordinary Circumstances Exception (ECE) Submission Process,
  • The QIP UFR Reporting Measure,
  • A Chat Box question on Ultrafiltration,
  • Instructions on How to Route Questions to EQRS, and
  • June 30, 2022 through February 28, 2023 EQRS Data Submission Deadlines.

6/15 RSN Kidney Kin Foodies Support Group Meeting

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The Renal Support Group’s new Kidney Kin Foodies Support Group will be meeting monthly via Zoom on the third Wednesday at 1 pm PT, starting on June 15, 2022. The first meeting will feature renal nutritionist and kidney transplant recipient Lubna Akbany, RDN, CSR. Read about Ms. Akbany at https://www.rsnhope.org/rsn-blog/meet-renal-nutritionist-lubna-akbany-rdn-csr/. Find out more about the group at https://www.rsnhope.org/rsn-events/rsn-zoom-room-meetings/, and use the form on the bottom of that page to Register for the meetings. The form appears to apply to the September meeting, but that date belongs to the Book Club meeting description above the form; specify the Kidney Kin Foodies Group by clicking the button at “Third Wednesdays…” on the form itself.