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Kidney Care Connections
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Empowering through advocacy and education

Get connected with others interested in helping further the cause of kidney care in America. Make a difference by shaping public policy.

Get Involved
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Stay connected! Help us keep in touch when we need your support.
Help Dialysis Patients in Your State
South Carolina -The South Carolina Senate Banking and Insurance Committee will hold a Sub-Committee hearing on SB 1128 on Wednesday, March 10, at 9 a.m. in Room 105 of the Gressette Building on the Statehouse Complex. You are invited to attend the hearing. Encourage your lawmakers to support SB 1128.
LEARN MORE
Florida- Ask your lawmakers to pass Senate Bill 2184 and House Bill 1167, protecting access to care for Floridians with kidney failure.
TAKE ACTION NOW
South Carolina - Ask your lawmakers to pass Senate Bill 1128 and House Bill 4552, extending Medigap coverage to dialysis patients under 65.
TAKE ACTION NOW
Georgia - 2/18/10, The Georgia Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 316 extending Medigap coverage to dialysis patients under 65. The final vote was 50-0. Thank you for your support!
What's happening in kidney care

Dialysis Community Provides Care in Haiti

Kidney Care Partners' members are providing dialysis equipment, supplies, medications, and on-the-ground clinical staff to Haiti to ensure continued patient access to life-saving treatment.
Dialysis Community Response

NBA-All Star Alonzo Mourning Joins Kidney Community in Urging Congress to Support Health Care Reform

NBA All-Star Alonzo Mourning joined DaVita CEO Kent Thiry and other representatives from Kidney Care Partners, a coalition of patient advocates and dialysis professionals, providers and manufacturers working to improve kidney patients' care, for activities on Capitol Hill this month to urge members of Congress to support healthcare reforms that improve patient access to quality kidney care.  Activities included a breakfast with members of the Congressional Black Caucus, one-on-one meetings with Members of Congress, a Congressional Briefing sponsored by KCP for Hill staff to outline policy objectives of the kidney community, and a visit to a local Washington, DC DaVita dialysis facility.
Click here to read more and view photos from the event.

Expanded Medigap Access in Florida

Due to a gap in Medigap coverage for Florida’s ESRD patients under age 65, thousands of patients in the state who were lacking secondary insurance to assist with their medical co-pays and deductibles were struggling financially with accessing needed healthcare services.

In order raise awareness of the need for expanded Medigap access for patients, a coalition of kidney community advocates – including the National Kidney Foundation of Florida, the Florida Renal Coalition and Dialysis Patient Citizens – embarked on a campaign to educate the state legislature, area media and the public about the need for legislation to improve patients’ access to care through the option to purchase Medigap insurance.

Click here to read more and view event photos. 

Invite Lawmakers to Visit Your Dialysis Center

Site visits are an excellent opportunity for Members of Congress and state lawmakers to experience first-hand how dialysis works, meet dialysis patients, and understand the unique issues faced by people on dialysis.
Click here for more information.

 

Who we are

Kidney Care Connections is a community education service of DaVita, a leading provider of kidney care in the United States, providing dialysis services and education for patients with chronic kidney failure and end stage renal disease. DaVita manages more than 1,400 outpatient facilities and acute units in more than 700 hospitals located in 43 states and the District of Columbia, serving approximately 110,000 patients.

As part of DaVita’s commitment to building a healthy, caring community, DaVita develops, participates in and donates to numerous programs dedicated to transforming communities and creating positive, sustainable change for children, families and our environment.

For more information about DaVita, its kidney education materials, and its community programs, please visit www.davita.com.

Our mission

Kidney Care Connections strives to educate public policy makers, kidney care professionals, kidney patients and their families about advancing treatment options and providing the best care to  patients. Because most kidney care is paid for by Medicare, it is imperative that the medical needs of people with kidney disease be understood by the government and America’s citizens.

What you can do

Get involved! Be an advocate for better kidney care by writing a letter to your local representative, inviting lawmakers to tour your dialysis center or learning more about kidney health. You will find advocacy tools on this website that will help make it easy for you to get involved and let your voice be heard.

Advocacy Tools

Write Your Elected Representative
For Everyone

Write Your Elected Representative

Elected officials serve America. As citizens, it is our responsibility to inform lawmakers about the issues that are important to us. By letting them know how legislation may affect kidney care and kidney patients, we can help them craft legislation that serves America's kidney patients.

For Healthcare Professionals
For Healthcare Professionals

Set up a tour of your center for your lawmakers

We have provided a sample invitation as well as an agenda for a dialysis center visit, and a press release to send to the local media. In addition, you’ll find a thank-you note to send to the Representative after the visit.