KCER Watch

Welcome to the June Special Edition of KCER Watch

In This Issue   Prepare for the 2019 Hurricane Season Develop an Emergency Preparedness Plan Build an Emergency Kit Assemble Items for a Three-day Emergency Diet Visit the ESRD NCC Patient Grant Library Download the What If… KCER Awareness Campaign

Preparedness

Prepare for the 2019 Hurricane Season The 2019 hurricane season runs from June 1–November 30, 2019. Forecasters are predicting there will be fourteen named storms, seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes. This prediction is a little above the 30-year average of twelve named storms, six hurricanes, and three major hurricanes. What does this mean for the U.S? It means one or more of the fourteen named storms predicted to develop this season could hit land. It’s important to develop a plan and stay prepared .

Develop an Emergency Preparedness Plan Now is the best time to plan for a major storm. Hurricanes are strong storms that can be life-threatening. It’s important to have an emergency preparedness plan ready in the event a storm threatens your community. Use the document in the link below to help create your family’s emergency preparedness plan. Emergency Communication Plan Build an Emergency Kit A major part of having an emergency preparedness plan is building an emergency preparedness kit. You’ll need supplies to last you for at least three days. Click on the following link to build your family’s emergency supply kit.  Emergency Preparedness Checklist

Assemble Items for a Three-Day Emergency Diet A major emergency like a hurricane can knock out power to your community, disrupt transportation, or cause your dialysis facility to close. In the event you cannot get your regular dialysis treatment, you will need to modify your diet until your normal dialysis treatment schedule can resume. Read more about the dialysis emergency in the following link. Three-Day Emergency Diet

Hot Topics

Visit the ESRD NCC Patient Grant Library The new ESRD NCC Patient Grant Library has information to help you receive financial assistance in the event of an emergency. This could include emergency money to help pay for food, utility bills, or unemployment assistance. Check out the Patient Grant Library by clicking on the link below. Patient Grant Library

Education/Communication

Download the KCER What If Campaign Most patients think they are prepared for an emergency, but few actually are. The KCER What If campaign aims to help kidney patients and healthcare professionals take the first step to being better prepared for the next emergency. Materials are available in English and Spanish. Click on the link below to download the campaign information. What If...

Print the Emergency Disconnect Handout for Patients In an emergency, a patient may need to stop their dialysis treatment and immediately disconnect from the dialysis machine. In the following link, find a one-page instruction sheet that shows patients how to disconnect from dialysis in three steps. You can also use this handout to start a conversation with your dialysis facility about the unit's emergency disconnect procedures. Emergency Disconnect

Share the Dialysis Patient Identification Card The Dialysis Patient Identification Card allows you to have important health information on hand in the event of an emergency. It gives first responders and medical professionals the ability to provide the correct treatment faster. Download it today! ID Card

What Patients Are Saying

What advice would you give to another patient to prepare for an emergency?

One important thing to have in case of a natural disaster would be to know your evacuation route, or better yet, two evacuation routes. —Allen Nelson N-KPFE-LAN Patient Voluntee r

I keep my bag of essentials in my vehicle. And I park my car away from trees if there is a storm. —Chris Eichmeier N-KPFE-LAN Patient Voluntee r

If you are a kidney patient affected by a hurricane or other natural disaster, you can call the dialysis provider Patient Hotline. Patient Hotlines DaVita: 800.400.8331 Fresenius: 800.626.1297 Dialysis Clinic, Inc. (DCI): 866.424.1990 DCI Donor Hotline/Transient Patients: 800.969.4438 American Renal Associates (ARA): 888.880.6867 Satellite: 800.367.8292 U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): 800.985.5990 U.S. Renal Care: 866.671.8772 Veteran Disaster Relief Hotline: 800.507.4571

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This material was prepared the Kidney Community Emergency Response (KCER) contractor, under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The contents presented do not necessarily reflect CMS policy nor imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. FL-KCER-7K2T3A-05302019-01