Giving back: Community bene� ts programs PAGE 3 »

Kidney disease and African Americans PAGE 4 »

Volunteer of the year PAGE 5 »

700 Broadway: New kidney resource center PAGE 6 »

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Community Connection Volume 1, Issue 2 · Spring 2012

Let’s do breakfast!Join us for the 10th annual Breakfast of Hope

The 10th annual Breakfast of Hope is May 15, in the middle of Northwest Kidney Centers’ 50th anniversary year. Plans are under way for a rousing morning. Our keynote speaker will be TV fashion critic and bestselling author Steven “Cojo” Cojocaru, who has fi rst-hand experience with kidney treatment.

Your donations at the breakfast will support Northwest Kidney Centers’ community benefi ts programs. These services include charity care and education to improve the lives of people with kidney disease in our community. A donation at this event is a wonderful way to make a lasting impact.

Read more on pages 2 and 3.

Come celebrate 50 years with us!

I N S ID E T H IS IS S U E :

Pledge and Volunteer Bulletin are now Community Connection

Output is now Dialysis Connection

Gift Planning E-News is now Gift Planning Connection

Our publications are changing—new updated looks, same important news:

Home Connection and Transplant Connection keep the same names.

Save the Date! May 15, 2012 Breakfast of Hope

Sign up for a spot at the tablewww.nwkidney.org/breakfast206-720-8585

Breakfastof HopeMay 15, 2012

7:30 to 8:45 a.m.

Westin Seattle Hotel

See page 2 for more details.

u May 15, 2012 u 7:30 to 8:45 a.m. u Westin Seattle Hotel

Are you interested in hosting a table for your company or friends?

Sign up to be a table captain:

breakfast@nwkidney.org

206-720-8585

Kidney disease affects everyone from business leaders to children, but it is frequently a disease of minorities and poor people.

Your gifts to charity care help lighten the cost burden, and ensure that patients’ basic needs are met so they can focus on their treatment.

Celebrity insider, bestselling author and red carpet guru Cojo is

known for his memorable interviews with stars including Oprah

Winfrey, George Clooney and other celebrity A-listers. His unique

blend of quick wit, dish and fashion commentary make him a

presence at major media events, from the Oscars to the MTV

Video Music Awards.

Cojo was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease (PKD) in 2004,

spent time on dialysis and has undergone two kidney transplants.

During breakfast, he will share his story – from transplant failure

to home dialysis and finally learning to live with his second

(successful) transplant.

Join us for a breakfast that promises to be as entertaining as it

is inspiring.

To register: www.nwkidney.org/breakfast or 206-720-8585

Community Connection 2

10th Annual Breakfast of Hope

Celebrity insider, fashionista and

bestselling author Steven “Cojo”

Cojocaru was diagnosed with

polycystic kidney disease (PKD) in

2004. He is the keynote speaker for

the May 15 Breakfast of Hope.

Have your coffee with Cojo2012 keynote speaker

Call for table captains!

Help us care for patients in need

This year, Breakfast of Hope proceeds will go to support Northwest Kidney Centers’ community benefits programs – a range of services that help provide better care in the present and pave the way to a brighter future for people living with kidney disease.

Community benefits include:

• Pre-dialysis, dialysis and transplant education for patients and their families

• Kidney disease research

• Funding for specialized training of kidney doctors

• Nutritional supplements for patients

• Charity care/uncompensated dialysis

• Emergency grants for patients

• Public health education and outreach

• Education scholarships for patients and staff members

Help us raise $400,000 to support community

services and maintain the excellence of our life-

sustaining dialysis care and unique patient services.

Join us for the 2012 Breakfast of Hope!

One in seven adult Americans has kidney disease, which often goes unnoticed until 80 percent of kidney function is gone. Your donations allow us to educate people about prevention and screening.

There has been less research in kidney disease than in all other major health challenges, just $115 per person with chronic kidney disease versus $1,100 for cancer.

You help us change that. Your donations to kidney research will brighten the future of kidney care.

Community Connection 3

Sign up for a spot at the tablewww.nwkidney.org/breakfast206-720-8585

Change the future of kidney health for our community

Help us educate Help us innovate

Good for the soul, good for your kidneysThe Fest is an event full of activity – music, entertainment, education and feasting as well as a chance to check your kidney health.

Talented musiciansEnjoy free entertainment throughout the day!

Local celebrity chefs and free cookbookA low-salt diet is one of the best ways to prevent or slow kidney disease. Learn healthy ways to prepare your favorite recipes.

Health screeningsTop-notch kidney care professionals are available for free tests and consultations about your kidney health.

Kidney disease and African Americans

Everyone – of any race – is welcome at the Kidney Health Fest to learn and be entertained. Kidney disease affects people of all races and walks of life.

But it’s especially common among African Americans. Just 12 percent of the U.S. population is African American, but 35 percent of U.S. dialysis patients are of African descent. At the Fest, we shine a special spotlight on that public health challenge.

Reasons for the disparity include access to care and varying degrees of disease recognition and screening. But those reasons aren’t enough to explain the fact that even African American kidney patients without diabetes who get good care often progress rapidly to kidney failure.

If you or any of your relatives have diabetes, high blood pressure or kidney disease, please come.

Kidney Health Fest for African American FamiliesCelebrating 10 years toward kidney wellness: Mind, body and soul

Community Connection 4

Ron Sims Master of Ceremonies

Ron Sims served as the deputy

secretary of the U.S. Department of

Housing and Urban Development

from 2009 to 2011. Before that, he

served for 12 years as King County

Executive.

Saturday, June 2 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Van Asselt Elementary School 8311 Beacon Ave. S., Seattle

In 2001, Dr. Young wanted to make an impact on the devastating statistics surrounding kidney disease and people of color. From that inspiration, the Kidney Health Fest for African American Families was born. Since 2002, Dr. Young has steered a committee of dedicated volunteers who plan this popular event. Because of her thoughtful leadership, commitment and dedication, the Fest has grown each year. Last year, 725 people attended.

Dr. Young is a nephrologist at Seattle’s Veterans Administration Hospital and associate professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine. She donates countless hours to leading this important community effort.

Leadership, commitment and

dedication are qualities that make

Dr. Bessie Young our volunteer of

the year.

Fest leader is our 2012 Volunteer of the Year

Community Connection 5

Dr. Bessie Young at the Fest.

“Dr. Young is the heart of the Fest,

pumping energy and vision into the

experience. Her fervor has never

wavered, and the Fest has become

an eagerly awaited health education

extravaganza. Her volunteer leadership

has proven her supremely deserving of

the Volunteer of the Year award.”

– Joyce F. Jackson

Northwest Kidney Centers

CEO and President

The founder and organizer of the annual Kidney Health Fest for African American Families, Dr. Bessie Young, is Northwest Kidney Centers’ 2012 Volunteer of the Year.

Community Connection 6

For Northwest Kidney Centers’ 50th anniversary year, we launched a fundraising campaign to transform the 700 Broadway building into a unique, comprehensive kidney resource center. The $5 million project benefits the growing number of people who face the chronic kidney disease epidemic. The building supports all three key areas of our mission – patient care, education and research.

The remodeled building will feature a major education center, space for clinical research, a demonstration kitchen, expanded pharmacy, heritage museum and an array of patient services.

Early donations exceed $1.25 million!

Thanks to the commitment, generosity and leadership of Northwest Kidney Centers’ board of trustees, Foundation Board members, campaign cabinet and generous donors, more than $1.25 million has been raised to date.

These volunteers, donors and long-time partners contributed generously before we announced the campaign publicly, paving the way for a successful campaign.

A special campaign for our 50th anniversaryTransforming 700 Broadway revitalizes our 40,000-square-foot building

To donate or become a part of the fundraising team, contact:

Larry Richards, Gift Planning Officer larry.richards@nwkidney.org 206-720-8550

Support the Transforming 700 Broadway Campaign Help us transform our 40,000-square-foot facility to support better care for people with kidney disease.

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The new reception area at 700 Broadway in Seattle will welcome patients, pharmacy users and class attendees.

Long-term partnership boosts campaign

Community Connection 7

Live. Learn. Hope. Give.Every gift helps provide patient care, education and research, so people with kidney disease can live well, learn and maintain hope for the future.

For more than 46 years, donations from PACCAR Inc and its CEO Mark Pigott have benefited Northwest Kidney Centers patients and their families in numerous ways – offering them hope, time and the opportunity for a brighter future.

Once again, the PACCAR Foundation has been a generous lead donor with a grant of $100,000 to the Transforming 700 Broadway Campaign. This early donation – an investment in a better future for kidney care – helped lay a solid foundation for the campaign’s success.

While we celebrate Northwest Kidney Centers’ 50 years of serving people with kidney disease, we are also thankful for PACCAR’s 107 years enhancing our community through philanthropy, service and commitment.

“We are proud of the partnership we have with PACCAR Inc and Mark Pigott. And we are deeply grateful for their continued commitment and generosity. PACCAR’s support of our mission for more than 46 years has had a significant impact on the lives of thousands of people with kidney disease in the Puget Sound region.”

– Joyce F. Jackson Northwest Kidney Centers CEO and President

A $100,000 gift from the PACCAR Foundation helped kick off the Transforming 700 Broadway Campaign.

www.nwkidney.org206-292-2771

700 Broadway • Seattle WA 98122

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The Kidney Research Institute, a collaboration between Northwest Kidney Centers and UW Medicine, is part of a team selected by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to test a wearable artifi cial kidney for safety and effectiveness.

The FDA announced April 9 that a team including the Kidney Research Institute is one of three in the country chosen for the FDA’s Innovations Pathway program. That program is intended to speed up testing and approval of promising medical devices.

The wearable artifi cial kidney in its current design is battery-powered, weighs about 10 pounds and is worn in a belt around the waist. It was invented by Dr. Victor Gura at the University of California, Los Angeles.

It is intended to replace dialysis machines for people with kidney failure. “Quality of life issues will likely be embedded in the trial design,” said Dr. Jonathan Himmelfarb, director of the Kidney Research Institute. “We’ll probably be asking patients, ‘Can you move with ease? How do you feel? How does the device or the treatment affect your daily life? Can you go to work with it on or go out with your family and friends?’”

See the homepage of our website at www.nwkidney.org for a link to more information.

Kidney Research Institute will test wearable artifi cial kidney

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www.facesofnwkidney.org

Tell Us Your StoryPatty Wood has been part of the Northwest Kidney Centers community for most of our history. Her fi rst dialysis was in 1972. Read Patty’s story at: