Category Archives: Patients & Family

More Hot Weather Tips

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Here are some additional resources in advance of this week’s extreme heat in our region:

Cool Tips for Hot Weather, a patient resource developed by Northwest Kidney Centers: https://www.nwkidney.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Nutrition-Tips-Cool-Tips-for-Hot-Weather.pdf or see below.

Preventing Heat-related Illnesses (OHA): https://www.oregon.gov/oha/ph/Preparedness/Prepare/Pages/PrepareForExtremeHeat.aspx.

Extreme Heat (CDC): https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/extremeheat/index.html.

Warning Signs and Symptoms of Heat-related Illness (CDC): https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/extremeheat/warning.html.

Extreme Heat Expected

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The National Weather Service anticipates this weekend to bring record breaking heat to our region with temperatures expected above 100 degrees in multiple locations. The following resources offer tips for patients and providers to use to stay cool during this extreme heat and how to properly manage fluids for those on dialysis. Ways to stay cool:

Networks are required by CMS to track the status of facility operations and patient access to treatment during emergency events. If the operations of your facility, or ability for patients to have access to dialysis are impacted by emergency events, please inform the Network right away. Contact Lisa Hall at LHall@comagine.org or 206-923-0714, and submit our Facility Interruption in Service Form located at https://esrdforms.comagine.org/machform/view.php?id=12270.

CMS Vaccination Campaign

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HHS and CMS are sponsoring a vaccination campaign oriented toward various vaccine-hesitant groups, called We Can Do This. They’ve developed a bewildering array of toolkits and resources, in English, Spanish, and several Asian languages, for general audiences, parents and teens, adolescents, skeptics, the curious, faith-based leaders, family and friends, essential agriculture workers, community health workers, Puerto Ricans, community-based organizations, black colleges, black civic organizations, shared housing, masks, clinics, older adults, nurses, pharmacists, rural communities, caregivers, healthcare navigators, mayors, older Hispanics, social media, Medicare beneficiaries, communities of color, side effects, safety, confidence and trust, US regions, socializing, traveling, risks, stress, self-care, pediatricians, Native Americans and Alaskans, immigrants, and many others! Find these toolkits, posters, podcasts, videos, etc., including a selective retrieval tool, at https://wecandothis.hhs.gov/.

The campaign also includes half-hour webinars introducing specific categories of resources, all at 10 am PDT:

Recall: 2 Lots Metformin XR 750mg

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The FDA has announced the recall of two lots of Viona Pharmaceuticals Metformin HCl Extended Release 750mg tablets because of impurities. Lot or “Batch” numbers are M915601 and M915602, NDC 72578-036-01, expiring October 2021. For details see https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/viona-pharmaceuticals-inc-issues-voluntary-nationwide-recall-metformin-hcl-extended-release-tablets.

June Fire Danger

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The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Department of Agriculture have published a map of drought conditions in the US, which indicates:

  • “Exceptional Dought” from LaPine to Klamath Falls in southern Oregon, and in a small area near Sun Valley in central Idaho.
  • “Extreme Drought” in northeastern Montana, Oregon’s southern Willamette Valley and Roseburg area, and a broad stripe from Ashland OR to Toppenish WA, Lewiston ID, and Spokane WA.
  • “Severe Drought” widespread in the Pacific Northwest.
  • Alaska has no current drought warnings except that the central North Slope is “Abnormally Dry.”

Find the full drought map at https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/, and details about the categories at https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/About/AbouttheData/DroughtClassification.aspx. The map is updated weekly and published each Thursday morning.

5/13+ AAKP/GWU Global Summit

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AAKP and the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences will present a 13-14 May 2021 3rd Annual Global Summit: Global Kidney Innovations – Expanding Patient Choices & Outcomes. The conference will be virtual and free. Find more information below and at https://aakp.org/programs-and-events/global-summit/, and register at that website.

4/28+ Patient Education

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Recently announced Patient Education webinars include:

April 25, 2021: NKF webinar in their The Big Ask-The Big Give series on First Steps to Transplant, for anyone thinking about a kidney transplant or a living donation. Find more information in the poster below, and register at http://kidney.org/BABG-CO-April.

April 28, 2021: AAKP HealthLine webinar on Advances in Transplantation for Highly Sensitized Patients, including patients with multiple transplants, multiple blood transfusions or high antibody levels. Find out more about HealthLine at https://aakp.org/aakp-healthline/, and register for this webinar at https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/3143395305898309131.

April 28, 2021: SSA WISE (Work Incentive Seminar Event) webinar on Ticket to Work: Healthcare and the Path to Employment, covering how employment and earnings affect benefits, work Incentives related to Medicare and Medicaid, benefits counseling, and Ticket Program services. Find more information and register at https://choosework.ssa.gov/wise.

May 1, 2021: AAKP HealthLine webinar on Are You O-K+? The Importance of Potassium Management & Kidney Disease. Find out more about HealthLine at https://aakp.org/aakp-healthline/, and register for this webinar at https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/1977918477331372045.

June 4, 2021: AAKP HealthLine webinar on Path to Diagnosis: Understanding Genetic Testing. Find out more about HealthLine at https://aakp.org/aakp-healthline/, and register for this webinar at https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/4203811598200278540.

COVID-19 Vaccine & Kidney Patients in Spanish

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The National Forum of ESRD Networks has published their flyer on What Kidney Patients Need to Know about the COVID-19 Vaccine in Spanish. A link to it has been added to the Forum’s web page on Resources & Links for Kidney Patients, along with the English version and many other documents on COVID-19 and CKD. Find it at https://esrdnetworks.org/resources-news/covid-19-information-resources/resources-for-kidney-patients/.