Celebrated in April each year, National Donate Life Month (NDLM) features an entire month of local, regional and national activities to help encourage Americans to register as organ, eye and tissue donors and to celebrate those that have saved lives through the gift of donation.

Here are some important facts about donation from the 2021 Donation and Transplantation Statistics from the Donate Life America Donor Designation Report and the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN):

On National Donate Life Blue & Green Day, the ESRD community is encouraged to wear blue and green and to engage in sharing the Donate Life message and promoting the importance of registering as a donor.

Donate Life America has also dedicated special themes for each day of the week leading up to National Donate Life Blue & Green Day, including: recognizing donors, volunteers and healthcare heroes; giving hope to those waiting; and engaging in fun activities. Please consider sharing information with staff and patients in support of Donate Life initiatives.

During the month of April, healthcare professionals across the country join forces to increase public awareness about both the causes and cures for stress. Stress can be debilitating, and it can cause and/or aggravate health problems. Since stress is a normal part of human existence — nobody is immune to it — it’s important to arm ourselves with knowledge so that we recognize when it arises.

Five Things You Should Know About Stress:

Chronic Illness and Mental Health: Recognizing and Treating Depression:

For more information and resources about stress management, please visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

This resource is intended for patients to display the color 11 X 17 poster size English | Spanish sign on their front door, entry hallway, and/or window to provide precautionary guidance and educational reminders to visitors entering their home.

The design layout has also been adaptable for print in black/white on 8 1/2 X 11 letter size to increase accessibility for patients. Dialysis facility staff are encouraged to print and distribute appropriate versions widely. 

During the last week of April, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and global public health partners recognize World Immunization Week – a time dedicated to promoting the use of vaccines to protect people of all ages against diseases and death. While the world focuses on critically important new vaccines to protect against COVID-19, there remains a need to ensure routine vaccinations are not missed. Immunization saves millions of lives every year and is widely recognized as one of the world’s most successful health interventions. This year’s campaign will aim to build solidarity and trust in vaccination as a public good that saves lives and protects health.

Please continue to promote the importance of vaccines and immunizations with both staff and patients with information from the CDC.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the End Stage Renal Disease National Coordinating Center (ESRD NCC) is producing a growing body of useful resources to support patient care and well-being. The ESRD NCC website is being updated regularly with new resources based on the recommendations from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), ESRD Networks, and patient subject matter experts.

The new resources can be downloaded by visiting the ESRD NCC website, www.esrdncc.org, or click on the direct links below.

The ESRD NCC produces weekly COVID-19 webinars. During these events, healthcare providers and patients discuss how they or their organizations are coping or combating COVID-19. To register for upcoming COVID-19 webinars or to review previous events, visit https://esrdncc.org/en/covid-19/covid-webinars/.

For additional COVID-19 resources, visit www.kidneycovidinfocenter.com.

CMS issued a new Medical Learning Network (MLN) Matters Article #MM12188 on Implementation of Changes in the End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System (PPS) and Payment for Dialysis Furnished for Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) in ESRD Facilities for Calendar Year (CY) 2021 (PDF). Learn about rate and policy updates.

A review of recent patient grievances received by ESRD Network staff determined that COMMUNICATION was the most common concern reported. To support improvement in facility/patient communication, the Network has identified a resource from The Sharp Experience.  Their resource includes a process for achieving satisfaction with patients and their families. It is called AIDET: Five Steps to Achieving Satisfaction, and includes:

A review of the complete article gives more examples of the AIDET process, along with other resources to consider to assist your facility to enhance the communication between your facility and the patients that you serve.

Each month the Social Security Administration's Ticket to Work program hosts the Work Incentives Seminar Event (WISE), which are free webinars on vocational rehabilitation services for eligible populations. They are held on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Past WISE webinars can be accessed at WISE on Demand. The next webinar will be held:

When: Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Time: 3:00pm – 4:30pm (EST)

Registration: https://choosework.ssa.gov/wise

Patients may be eligible for additional benefits even if they receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). You can also learn more about work incentives in the the Red Book: A Summary Guide to Employment Supports for Persons with Disabilities Under the SSDI and SSI Programs.

Please also visit the IPRO ESRD Network Program website for additional information and resources about vocational rehabilitation.

“CMS data shows that those with ESRD have the highest rate of hospitalization of any single group, a trend consistent with having to frequently leave home to receive dialysis,” CMS Administrator Seema Verma said in a press release. “In the midst of a deadly pandemic that poses a particular threat to those with serious underlying conditions, President Trump’s call for increased access to home dialysis has never been more urgent. Unfortunately, government rules too often stand in the way. Today’s action represents a sorely needed course direction, making it easier for ESRD facilities to make new and innovative home dialysis machines available to patients who need them.”

More than 85 percent of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries living with ESRD travel to a facility three times a week for dialysis, spending an average of 12 hours a week connected to a machine that, under the right circumstances, could be located at home. Patients who receive dialysis treatments at home can increase their independence, while at the same time receiving necessary support from their care providers with telehealth.

According to the National Kidney Foundation's 5 Things to Know About Telemedicine, telemedicine offers a promising alternative to in-person care. Telehealth solutions offer self-management tools and enhanced communication between patients and clinicians. Clinicians can remotely monitor a patient’s blood pressure and other vital signs, as well as offering resources for medication adherence and diet plans. More importantly, nephrologists and nephrology nurses can coordinate care online with a patient’s primary care provider and interact at home with patients undergoing hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis, offering on-demand care between regularly scheduled office visits.

If your facility is experiencing barriers to utilizing telehealth, please contact the Network for technical assistance.

For more information and resources about telehealth, please visit the IPRO ESRD Network Program pages at:

Many dialysis patients feel discouraged to ask a family member, caregiver or a friend to become their kidney donor as they fear creating a financial burden for them. Luckly, there are new bills and program expansions to help living donors with expenses and other financial challenges. One of these programs is the National Living Donor Assistance Center (NLDAC), which can help with living donor travel expenses, lost wages and dependent care expenses! Although the transplant center usually takes care of the living donor application, dialysis facility staff can help educate dialysis patients about this program for consideration of living donation.

To learn more about NLDAC, consider watching these recorded webinars:

Over the last several months, the IPRO ESRD Network Program has been working diligently with a focus group of dialysis facilities to understand barriers and successes in moving patients to home therapy. To help support facilities in this project, the Network provided the Home Change Package developed by the ESRD National Coordinating Center (NCC). The Change Package includes actionable change ideas collected from high performing dialysis centers across the nation. In addition to the Change Package, the NCC also provides tools to support the growth of home therapies with Home Dialysis Heroes and Universal Staff Education: Home Dialysis.

Through work with the home focus groups, the Network identified a best practice developed in a rural facility, Dialysis Clinic Inc. (DCI) Skowhegan in Maine. In addition to being located in a remote area, the facility does not have a home program. The identified practice was based on interventions implemented using the Change Package and supporting resources.

The facility's social worker shared the following:

The Network would like to commend this facility for going above and beyond to educate patients, staff and nephrologists. By changing the culture to "home is possible", a big impact can made in patients' lives...even in a small rural facility with no home program.

NOTE: When submitting a request to the Network, you should NEVER include any patient-specific information such as Name, Date of Birth, Social Security Number, Medicare Claim Number, etc. The only patient identifier that can safely be communicated is the Unique Patient Identifier (UPI) from CROWNWeb.

For more information, please visit the Network website.