11/19+ DPC Caregiver Webinar

Dialysis Patient Citizens will present an 11am PST November 19, 2020 webinar on Looking Out for the Caregiver: Understanding the People Who Care for Dialysis Patients. For details see below. Register at https://www.dpcedcenter.org/news-events/education-webinars/signup/?bblinkid=244466063&bbemailid=25295695&bbejrid=1697677768.

DPC will also host 11am PST webinars on Coping with the Holidays December 17, 2020; Advance Directives & Shared Decision-Making January 28, 2021; Nutrition and Exercise for the Immune System February 25, 2021; and The Empowered Patient: Taking Steps to Manage Diabetes and Chronic Kidney Disease March 25, 2021.

9/12 Lifestyle & Kidney Health Webinar

NKF and Swedish Medical Center will present a free two-hour September 12, 2020 webinar on Lifestyle and Kidney Health: A Patient and Community Symposium, with speakers on weight loss, nutrition, mental health, and fitness.  Details follow.  Registration is required, at https://kidney.secure.force.com/rc_connect__campaign_designform?id=7013a00000229opAAA&form=00P3a00001W3snHEAR& .

9/12 NKF Webinar on Lifestyle & Kidney Health

NKF and Swedish Medical Center will present a free two-hour September 12, 2020 webinar on Lifestyle and Kidney Health: A Patient and Community Symposium, with speakers on weight loss, nutrition, mental health, and fitness.  Details follow.  Registration is required, at https://kidney.secure.force.com/rc_connect__campaign_designform?id=7013a00000229opAAA&form=00P3a00001W3snHEAR& .

Hot Weather Health

In all of the resources below, remember that dialysis patients must still control their fluid intake.  For tips on Dialysis Fluids Management in English, see https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/nwrn.org/files/NW18/Fluids.Eng.pdf and in Spanish, see https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/nwrn.org/files/NW18/Liquidos.esp.pdf.  These should override the water-consumption suggestions in all of the documents below.

The Oregon Health Authority has an excellent web page on Extreme Heat, that includes FAQ sheets in English, Español (Spanish), Русский (Russian), 简体中文 (Simplified Chinese), Af Soomaali (Somali), and tiếng Việt (Vietnamese).  Find it at https://www.oregon.gov/oha/ph/Preparedness/Prepare/Pages/PrepareForExtremeHeat.aspx.

Homeland Security’s “Ready.gov” website has a thorough discussion of how to stay cool and safe in extreme heat, at https://www.ready.gov/heat.  The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has a page on how to identify signs of heat exhaustion or heat stroke, and what to do about it, at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/heatstress/heatrelillness.html.  CDC has a program that sends out a weekly email on Five Minutes or Less for Health Weekly Tip, which also covers skin cancer, hydration, and communicable diseases from mosquitoes and ticks.  Review their hot weather Tips or sign up at https://www.cdc.gov/family/minutes/tips/summersavvy/index.htm.

5/2 Five NKF Webinars on Kidney Disease Topics

NKF will present a May 2, 2020 half-day series of five webinars for patients on current kidney-disease topics called Virtual Education Series: Connect, Learn, and Share.  You can choose any or all of the 30- to 45-minute sessions, and they’ll be recorded for later viewing.  The topics are:

• Coping with a Chronic Illness: Dealing with Emotions and Finding Support
• Tips for Kidney Friendly Eating on a Budget
• Fitness and Kidney Health
• Telemedicine 101: What to Expect When Seeing Your Doctor at Home
• Let’s Talk about Transplant: Real Patient Stories

Each webinar will be co-led by a healthcare professional and a patient.  Find more information and register at https://www.kidney.org/events/local-event/virtual-education-series-connect-learn-and-share.

4/25 NKF Patient Lifestyle Workshop in Seattle

NKF and Swedish Medical Center will present an April 25, 2020 four-hour workshop on Lifestyle & Kidney Health: Diet, Exercise, Weight Loss and Beyond.  Topics will include nutrition, diabetes, blood pressure, fitness, and transplant preparation.  Lunch will be provided.  See below for full details:

10/17 DPC Webinar on Transplant

Dialysis Patient Citizens will present an October 17, 2019 webinar on Decisions You Need to Make about Your Transplant Choice.  The webinar will cover high risk donors, the transplant waitlist, and how to be a “great transplant recipient.”  RSVP at https://www.dpcedcenter.org/news-events/education-webinars/.  This is short notice, but the webinar will be recorded, and when the recording is ready you can find a link to it at the same web page, along with past webinars on topics like diabetes, employment, exercise, medications, laughter, support, and many others.  The next monthly webinar, on November 21, will be about Treatments and Modality Options for Kidney Disease.  There’s no date set yet, but the December webinar will be on Kidney Nutrition.  Find more details and RSVP for current and future webinars at https://www.dpcedcenter.org/news-events/education-webinars/signup/.

5/14 AAKP HealthLine on SHPT

AAKP will present a May 14, 2019 webinar on Understanding Secondary Hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) – What is it?  How can it be managed?  Register at https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/8410471602615141899.  Future HealthLine webinars will discuss Traveling While on Dialysis in June, and Exercise and Physical Rehabilitation in July.  AAKP’s HealthLine page at https://aakp.org/aakp-healthline/ includes a link to their long list of past HealthLine webinars.

HDC re LOL-HD

MEI’s Home Dialysis Central blog has an interesting post on Laugh Out Load Hemodialysis, which Satellite Dialysis has been experimenting with.  Among other things, the post describes the physiological benefits of laughter, including its positive impact on mood, pain, lungs, cardiovascular function, and immune response.  Find the post at https://homedialysis.org/news-and-research/blog/305-laugh-out-loud-hemodialysis-lol-hd-improving-the-dialysis-experience-at-satellite-healthcare/.  While the subject of the post is in-center dialysis, anyone with an internet connection and computer or smartphone who dialyzes at home can call up a million comedies to watch.  See also https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/nwrn.org/files/N/DPC/DPCLaugh2019.pdf for information on a May 26, 2019 webinar on Pain Relief through Laughter.

RSN Renal Warrior Podcast

The Renal Support Network has published a March 7, 2018 KidneyTalk podcast on Renal Warrior: the Power is Within You, a story about a 300-pound 34-year-old who, surprised by an unanticipated diagnosis of severe hypertension and ESRD, took responsibility for his own continued Life.  Through a very gradual increase in exercise, he has lost 130 pounds over the last eighteen months, and is now on the transplant waitlist.  Find the recording of the podcast, including a link to his ongoing Facebook page, at http://www.rsnhope.org/kidneytalk/renal-warrior-power-within/.