Thrill Seekers II -- A Vascular Access Program PLUS Cannulation Camp
Do you have an interest in ... Helping your patients receive the hightest quality of care? ... Promoting quality improvement within your clinic?
Materials for these sessions ARE NOW AVAILABLE (format: PDF, size: 6.5 Mb, 124 pages). This information should be printed and reviewed prior to the program.
Fee (per person): Pre-Register = $25.00, At-The-Door = $35.00. Pre-registration must be postmarked by November 4, 2009
Thrill Seekers Program Registration Form (format: PDF, size: 164 kb) -- please follow the instructions on this flyer to registration for this program.
JOIN US at one of the following "Thrill Seekers" programs --
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has charged the Forum of ESRD Networks with the responsibility of the establishment of a renal coalition within their individual Networks. The PennDel CKD Partnership was established in October 2005 as the result of this endeavor. The two-fold mission of the PennDel CKD Partnership is to aid in early identification of those at risk for Chronic Kidney Disease and to increase the incident/prevalent fistula rate within ESRD Network 4 to meet the CMS goal of 66% by 2009.
Mission: To enhance the ability of the renal community to improve the quality of healthcare services of quality of life for the CKD/ESRD Medicare beneficiaries in ESRD Network 4, Inc.
Vision: The PennDel CKD Partnership will reduce fragmentation and duplication of services so that resources and educational efforts can be efficiently directed towards services or projects.
Goal: To strengthen and build new partnerships in the renal community. To educate the target populations about CKD issues.
The partnership is comprised of members from many different organizations and professional backgrounds within the renal field. Our partners include members of the renal community:
- National Kidney Foundation (NKF)
- American Nephrology Nurses Association (ANNA)
- State Surveyors (Pennsylvania & Delaware)
- Quality Improvement Organization (QIOs)
- Independent Dialysis Organizations (DCI, DaVita, FMC)
- Vascular Access Centers
- Nephrologists
- Surgeons
- Nurse Practitioners and Physicians Assistances
- Nurses
- Social Workers
- Dietitians
- Administrators
- Patient Care Technicians
- Pharmacists
- Renal Educators and Clinical Specialists
Becoming a member is simple-just contact the PennDel CKD Partnership at penndel@nw4.esrd.net with your contact information. you will receive an email notification with the information to participate in monthly telecomferences (usually the second or third Tuesday at 8:00 AM). It's that easy!
Your contribution supports the partnership to acheive its mission of promoting and improving patient outcomes. Additionally, it provides an ongoing opportunity to communicate and network with other renal professionals.
Partnership and Subcommittee Endeavors
The CKD subcommittee's focus includes early referral of CKD patients to a nephrologist and surgeon. The secondary goal would then be early AV fistula placement prior to the initiation of renal replacement therapy.
The Fistula First subcommittee is committed to finding ways to assist clinics with achieving the CMS goal of a 66% prevalent AV fistula rate. Each subcommittee has provided learning resources, hosted symposiums and created educational tools for both patients and renal providers. Examples of these projects include:
- The development of a Primary Care Physician Toolkit (includes an education slide presentation, a CKD Stage 1-5 Algorithm of Care, a Pocket Guide and a list of educational resources)
- Hosted a Primary Care Physician Dinner Symposium in Hershey, Pennsylvania
- Collaborated with the National Kidney Foundation, the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) to host a full-day CKD symposium, "A Multi-Disciplinary Approach: CKD Management for Primary Care Providers"
- Compiled a packet of educational resources to promote Fistula First Best Practices for Network 4 dialysis centers
- Developed patient educational brochures with accompanying posters to encourage AV fistula placement for the Network 4 dialysis patients and facilities
- Surveyed dialysis facilities to obtain information of "best practices" from those providers achieving optimal AV fistula rates
- Conducted a "Thrill-Seekers" project to encourage dialysis facilities to identify a "point-of-contact" to disseminate vascular access education
- Hosted a full-day Vascular Access Program in Pittsburgh for dialysis facility caregivers
- Grand Rounds at local hospitals
- Patient Education Sessions
- Public Service Announcements to be broadcast on "Newsmakers", a Comcast® Cable
- Public Education Session at a Pittsburgh Penguins game with autographed t-shirt giveaway
- KEEP (Kidney Early Evaluation Program) Screenings and public awareness campaigns on KEEP
- T-shirt & Key Chain Campaign to raise awareness of World Kidney Day
Additional Resources Available
- Eleven (11) Change Concepts (format: PDF, size: 1.2 Mb) which outline clinical and organizational changes that can be adapted and applied locally to improve AVF prevalence and success.
- Algorithm/Protocol (format: PDF, size: 58 kb) for the Referral and Placement of Permanent Vascular Access in New Dialysis Patients.
- Sample Policy and Procedure: Cannulation of New Fistula (format: PDF, size: 94 kb).
- Article: A Multidisciplinary Team Approach to Increasing AV Fistula Creation (format: PDF, size: 49 kb): a community based nephrology practice experience, found in Nephrology News and Issues, June 2003, written by Vo D. Nguyen, MD; Chris Griffith, MD; and Lynn Treat, BSN, RN, BA, CNN.
- Video Series: "Creating AV Fistulae in ALL Eligible Hemodialysis Patients"
Additionally the Fistula Subcommittee has recently developed two brochures with accompaning posters. The brochures/posters entitled "The ABCs of Fistula Placement" and "How Do I Look?" have been designed and sized to be displayed together on a single bulletin board.
- ABCs of Fistula Placement Brochure, Side 1 (format: PDF, size: 8.7 Mb)
- ABCs of Fistula Placement Brochure, Side 2 (format: PDF, size: 444 kb)
- ABCs of Fistula Placement POSTER! (format: PDF, size: 8.5 mb)
- How Do I Look Brochure, Side 1 (format: PDF, size: 2.9 Mb)
- How Do I Look Brochure, Side 2 (format: PDF, size: 262 kb)
- How Do I Look POSTER! (format: PDF, size: 2.8 Mb)
To further our endeavor, the Fistula Subcommittee surveyed medical directors and head nurses from 152 clinics on the ESRD Network 4 Chairman Preferred and Gold Preferred List. The survey tool sought information regarding factors though to be associated with high AF Fisulta rates and how those factors impact these clinics. The survey had a 36% response rate and a great deal of information was gathered.
