NEW YORK, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Kidney
Foundation (NKF) is proud to announce the launch of its first-ever
Health Equity Advisory Committee (HEAC) responsible for directing
and championing NKF's health equity, community health, and social
justice efforts through research, education and key partnerships.
This committee will work collaboratively with kidney patients,
other NKF committees, as well as boards and NKF staff to advise in
the design, implementation and evaluation of programs that support
stronger and healthier communities.
"We are very excited about the formation of this important
committee because our main goal is to ensure that all people living
with, or at risk for, kidney disease have access to the health
resources and support they need," said NKF's President-Elect Dr.
Sylvia E. Rosas, MD, MSCE, and Chair
of the HEAC. "This committee will also champion NKF-ASN eGFR
Taskforce recommendations to reassess the inclusion of race in
accurately diagnosing kidney diseases."
Kidney disease affects an estimated 37 million adults in the
U.S. and can lead to life-threatening kidney failure. Most of those
with the disease do not know they have it and won't know until it
has progressed to critical late stages. People of Black or African
American, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian or Alaska Native,
Asian American, or Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
descent are at increased risk for developing the disease. For
example, Black or African American people comprise 13% of the U.S.
population but represent 35% of those with kidney failure, treated
with dialysis, or kidney transplantation.
"Through health services research we know that healthcare
inequalities in communities of color begins long before actual
kidney failure develops, so the formation of this committee to
address ongoing severe health disparities, particularly in this age
of COVID-19, is critically important," said NKF Chief Medical
Officer Joseph Vassalotti,
MD.
Members of NKF's Health Equity Advisory Committee will meet
virtually for a period of two years. Initial meetings will be
convened every two weeks and then the committee will reassess the
frequency of meetings.
In addition to advising NKF on the design, implementation and
evaluation of programs that will support healthier communities, the
HEAC will also provide support:
- Identifying expanded professional development and research
opportunities for underrepresented healthcare professionals;
- Identifying opportunities to support and advance health equity
research in nephrology;
- Assisting in networking as needed with other experts,
societies, government agencies, and potential funders, and
finally;
- Reviewing and editing documents and educational materials
submitted by NKF staff or volunteers to assure content accuracy,
validity, and cultural sensitivity.
In addition to her role as NKF's President-Elect and Chair
of the Health Equity Advisory Committee, Sylvia E. Rosas, MD, MSCE, is also a
Nephrologist and Epidemiologist at the Joslin Diabetes Center in
Boston, MA. Her primary research
focus is on the epidemiology of metabolic and cardiovascular
disease complication in patients with chronic kidney disease,
particularly diabetic kidney disease.
Additional members of the HEAC include:
Luz Baquerio is a Bilingual Community Liaison for
the Atlanta School District as
well as passionate patient advocate who is a certified interpreter
in education and special education. She has experienced first-hand
what it's like to not receive the healthcare you need simply due to
your citizenship status.
Beatrice Concepcion, MD,
is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in
Nashville, TN and the Associate
Medical Director of the Vanderbilt Kidney and Pancreas Transplant
Program. She leads her program's outreach efforts to increase
access to transplantation for patients living in rural areas. Her
research interests include increasing access to kidney and pancreas
transplantation and improving clinical and patient-centered
outcomes of kidney transplant recipients.
Raquel Greer, MD, MHS, is
an Associate Professor of Medicine at Johns
Hopkins University School of Medicine and a General
Internist. Greer's research program focuses on improving
health care quality and promoting health equity among patients with
chronic kidney disease (CKD) and CKD risk factors, including
diabetes and hypertension. She also leads several educational
initiatives to address health and health care disparities,
including efforts to increase the diversity of the healthcare
workforce and to improve the competency of health professionals to
understand and address social determinants of health with and
within the communities we serve.
Vanessa Grubbs, MD,
MPH, is an author, kidney donor, and Associate Professor
in the Division of Nephrology at University of
California San Francisco (UCSF) who has maintained a
clinical practice and research program at Zuckerberg San Francisco
General Hospital from 2009 - 2019, focusing on palliative care for
patients with end-stage kidney disease.
Dinushika Mohottige, MD, MPH, is a Nephrologist and
Medical Instructor in the Division of Nephrology at Duke University Hospitals. She focuses on engaging
in patient and community-centered, inequity-focused research around
the impact of socio-structural factors on kidney health and kidney
transplantation.
Ellis Morrow, DCN, RDN, MS,
LD, is an Assistant Professor and the Director of the Didactic
Program in Dietetics in the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
at Texas Southern University in
Houston, TX. His research
interests include energy expenditure, obesity, and sleep apnea in
chronic kidney disease. He is currently an Editorial Board Member
for NKF's Journal of Renal Nutrition.
LaTasha Seliby Perkins,
MD, is an Assistant Professor in the School of Medicine at Georgetown University and the
College Health Physician at Georgetown's Student Health Center. She is
also a Media Ambassador for the American Academy of Family
Physicians and an Advisory Board Member of the National Minority
Quality Forum (NMQF), which works in close partnership with the
Congressional Black Caucus on the Health Braintrust.
Velma Scantlebury-White,
MD, is the first Black woman transplant surgeon in the United States. She has performed 2,000
transplants and has been involved throughout her career with
educating communities of color regarding the need for more organ
donors and the rising number of patients in need of
transplantation.
Sumeska Thavarajah, MD, is an Assistant Professor of
Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University
School of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology. She
focuses on the development of patient education programs including
videos, live classes and patient conferences with a focus on
understanding kidney disease, dialysis modalities and transplant
options.
Roberto Vargas, MD, MPH,
is an Assistant Dean for Health Policy and Inter-Professional
Education within the College of Medicine and Director of the
Health Policy Pillar of the Urban Health Institute at
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and
Science (CDU). His research expertise includes
descriptive and comparative analyses of health care interventions
to improve health outcomes and reduce disparities in care as well
as community engagement in partnered research efforts.
Curtis Warfield, MS, is a
Senior Quality Analyst for the State of
Indiana. He is a passionate patient advocate for kidney
disease who has advocated on Capitol Hill and in Indiana with members of Congress regarding
kidney and organ donor issues. He also serves on several technical
and medical review panels as a patient representative.
Tiffany Washington, PhD,
MSW, is an Associate Professor at the University of Georgia's School of Social Work and a
Nephrology Social Worker. She serves on the editorial boards of
NKF's Journal of Nephrology Social Work and BMC
Nephrology. Her research interest includes caregiving and
chronic kidney disease self-management.
Full biographies for each Health Equity Advisory committee
member can be found here.
Kidney Disease Facts
In the
United States, 37 million adults are estimated to
have chronic kidney disease—and approximately 90 percent don't
know they have it. 1 in 3 adults in the U.S. are at risk for
chronic kidney disease. Risk factors for kidney disease
include: diabetes, high blood pressure, heart
disease, obesity, and family history. People of Black or
African American, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian or Alaska
Native, Asian American, or Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific
Islander descent are at increased risk for developing the disease.
Blacks or African Americans are almost 4 times more likely than
White Americans to have kidney failure. Hispanics are 1.3
times more likely than non-Hispanics to have kidney failure.
About the National Kidney Foundation
The National
Kidney Foundation (NKF) is the largest, most
comprehensive, and longstanding patient-centric organization
dedicated to the awareness, prevention, and treatment of kidney
disease in the U.S. For more information about NKF, visit
www.kidney.org.
NKF Professional Membership
Healthcare professionals can join NKF to receive access
to tools and resources for both patients and professionals,
discounts on professional education, and access to a network of
thousands of individuals who treat patients with kidney
disease.
Facebook.com
twitter.com/nkf
www.kidney.org
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SOURCE National Kidney Foundation