NW16 11/26 Recruiting Patient Advisory Committee Volunteers

ESRD Network 16 is recruiting for new volunteers to serve on our Patient Advisory Committee (PAC).  PAC members:

• Advise on Network education and outreach
• Assist with Network Quality Improvement Activity design and interventions
• Meet with Medicare (CMS) on conference calls to provide feedback from a patient perspective

Most PAC activities are conducted by phone call and email, though there are occasional opportunities for in person meetings.  Any travel to in-person meetings will be funded by the Network.

Please share the Informational Flyer at https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/nwrn.org/files/PAC/Nw16PACFlyer1118.pdf, and the Application form at https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/nwrn.org/files/PAC/Nw16PACForm1118.pdf, with patients and care partners in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington that might be interested.  Application forms are due to the Network by November 26, 2018.

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.

AAKP Patient Meeting Recorded

Recordings of the 43rd AAKP National Patient Meeting, held June 8-10, 2018 in St. Petersburg FL, are now available online, at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwT_eU7vwGtHSapN8PKc-Hw.  Sessions include:

• Assessing Dialysis Facility Quality: CMS Engagement of Kidney Patients
• Innovations in Kidney Disease Care
• Paving the Way for a Better Tomorrow: Understanding Clinical Trials
• Improving Kidney Care and Treatment Options – NIH Kidney Precision Medicine Project
• Innovation, Patient Focus and Care Improvement – Veterans Administration Leadership in Kidney Care
• Nutrition 101: Understanding & Enjoying Your Kidney-Friendly Diet
• Patient-Centered Kidney Disease Care: How to Change the Status Quo

NW18 7/16 Quality Conference in LA

HealthInsight ESRD Network 18 will hold their 2018 Quality Conference July 16, 2018 in Los Angeles. Topics will include preserving renal function, emergency preparedness, cultural awareness and sensitivity, patient engagement and advocacy, the impact of dialysis, and CROWNWeb.  Five CEs will be provided.  Find details and register at http://www.esrdnetwork18.org/ or http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07efdferr9f760399d&llr=gfuz7mxab.

1/5 Physician Measures TEP

CMS has contracted with UM-KECC to develop one or more measures related to the quality of care provided to ESRD dialysis patients by physicians, and is recruiting transplant and dialysis patients to serve on the Technical Expert Panel that will propose such measures.  Nominations are due by January 5, 2018.  For details see https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/MMS/TEP-Currently-Accepting-Nominations.html#001.

NW16 National Board Patient Members Needed

Network 16 is seeking volunteers – patients or care partners – to represent the Network on two national committees:

ESRD National Coordinating Center’s Patient and Family Engagement Learning & Action Network:

• Volunteers are asked to commit to participating in scheduled conference calls and webinars, usually every month or every other month
• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (Medicare) representatives are on the calls, providing an opportunity for volunteers to work closely with the federal government to improve patient care
• The patient representative with the highest level of participation (attendance) gets to travel to Baltimore for a national meeting of the committee
• Learn more about the committee at http://ncc.hshapps.com/en/patients/national-patient-and-family-engagement-lan-npfe-lan/.
• We need one patient from Idaho, and one from Montana

Kidney Community Emergency Response Coalition (KCER):  This is a national group devoted to improving emergency preparedness and response for kidney patients and ESRD facilities.  This involves quarterly conference calls.  Learn more about the Coalition at http://www.kcercoalition.com/.  We need two patients from any Network state – Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, or Washington.

Anyone interested should email Lisa Hall at LHall@nw16.esrd.net or call 206-923-0714.

12/7 Patient Revolution WIHI

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement will host a free 7 December, 2017 audio “WIHI” program on The (Careful and Kind) Patient Revolution., featuring the Mayo Clinic’s Victor Montori, MD.  This Patient Revolution is “a movement based on stories.  [It’s] mission is to arm people to tell stories; stories about their lives, stories about their capabilities and limitations, and stories about what risks, benefits and trade-offs look like from their point of view.  We want people to tell these stories in exam rooms and hospital rooms, in their communities and in the rooms where decisions get made.”  For more information and to register, see http://forms.ihi.org/next-wihi-on-december-7-at-2-pm-et-the-careful-and-kind-patient-revolution.  For The (Careful and Kind) Patient Revolution website, see https://patientrevolution.org/whywerevolt/.