There are over 320,000 people
receiving dialysis therapy in the United States and over 45%
are over the age of 60. Despite many dialysis patients having
significant co-morbid conditions that affect their care, they
have a high quality of life and can be expected to enjoy extra
years of life afforded by dialysis. However, this is not true
for all patients. About 20% of patients withdraw from dialysis
prior to death, and many die from heart disease, infections,
and other causes while continuing dialysis. For these patients,
end-of-life care is an important part of their treatment plan.
This website is dedicated
to those patients and to all the caring staff in hospitals,
dialysis units, and hospice organizations who are committed
to helping patients with death, the final stage of growth.(1)
This website has been developed
by the Kidney End-of-Life Coalition and is
intended to be a dynamic site with links to many other websites
and resources addressing end-of-life concerns. Contact
us with questions; your feedback is always appreciated.
(1) DEATH,
The Final Stage of Growth by Elizabeth Kubler Ross,Touchstone,
1997.
*NEW 5/10* The entire webinar series “Hospice and Palliative Care for Dialysis Patients” is now available online. The series featured four (4) live webinar presentations between January–April 2010, and was jointly sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Renal Coalition, WVU School of Medicine and the WV Center for End-of-Life Care. A recording of each webinar, along with the original PowerPoint slides and related resources, are now posted online for free download. Please note you may not receive CE credit to view these presentations online. Click one of the links below to view the webinar materials.
Relevance of Palliative Care and Hospice for Dialysis Patients by Dr. Alvin Moss (from January 20, 2010)
Pain Assessment and Management by Dr. Sara Davison (from February 17, 2010)
Symptom Assessment and Management by Dr. Steven Weisbord (from March 24, 2010)
Incorporating Palliative Care into the Dialysis Unit by Dr. Michael Germain (from April 28, 2010)
*NEW 12/09* The Patient and Family Education webpage has been expanded to include information on choosing not to start dialysis and dialysis withdrawal. This new section is intended to assist dialysis patients and their families in making informed decisions about treatment options, including the option of no dialysis. The webpage also includes information on advance directives, end-of-life and palliative care, caregiver support services and several personal stories from family members. View Press Release.
*NEW 9/09* Clinical Algorithm & Preferred Medications to Treat Pain in Dialysis Patients is a brochure developed by an international panel of experts in pain and symptom management in order to assist caregivers while managing pain in dialysis patients. The brochure includes:
- A pain management algorithm
- An overview of the essentials of pain management
- the World Health Organization's analgesic ladder
- Instructions for neuropathic and nociceptive pain treatment
- How to manage opioid adverse effects
- Preferred medications in CKD
- A pain assessment tool.
Click here for a list of related reference materials.
The Mid-Atlantic Renal Coalition
was awarded
the American Association of Kidney Patients'
2007 Dominick Gentile, MD, Memorial
Award
in recognition of its Kidney End-of-Life Coalition.
The award is given annually to an ESRD Network in recognition
of
its maintenance of a developed program that significantly
benefits patients. |