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AAKP 46th Annual National Patient Meeting Day One (9/24/21) Closing Remarks by VP Edward V. Hickey III

AAKP Vice President Edward V. Hickey III

AAKP 46th Annual National Patient Meeting

Mobilizing for Innovation and Independence

Day One (9/24/21) - Closing Remarks

Transcribed from closing remarks made by Edward V. Hickey, III, AAKP Vice President, AAKP Chair of Veterans Health Initiative

Hello again - my name is Ed Hickey and I serve as the Vice President of AAKP and as Chair of the AAKP Veterans Health Initiative.  We have had a very substantive first day of our Annual Patient Meeting, and I would like to make several observations about the presentations today before you enjoy our curated menu of after-hours programming, made possible by the generosity of our sponsors and individual contributions from our AAKP patient members and families.

We started the day with a discussion of AAKP's 2019 launch of The Decade of the Kidney™. At AAKP, we believe that patient consumer care choice and treatments that align with patient aspirations are what patients define as high quality kidney health care. We also believe that people of goodwill throughout the world, patients, and professionals from all sectors, have both the desire to unite and the skills to fight for a cause larger than themselves - our shared fight against kidney diseases and solutions that will save lives.

We saw Doctor Fokko Wieringa from the Dutch Kidney Foundation outline the amazing international consortium that has already formed to advance the development of an artificial kidney within the next ten years.  AAKP is proudly leading and building a global network of patient consumer advocacy organizations to support this work.  We are honored to be working side by side with patients from the European Kidney Patients’ Federation and the European Kidney Health Alliance among many other patient organizations in this effort.

We also heard from global industry partners such as Humacyte, Bayer Pharmaceuticals, Sanofi Genzyme, and Novartis talk about the unique role patients, patient insights and patient reported outcomes have in their efforts to produce new products that help kidney patients. We also heard from major research institutions like the University of Minnesota, University of Michigan, and Northwestern University discuss key research initiatives they have undertaken that put kidney patients at the center of new findings on risk tolerance, disparity in transplantation, and prescription drug management.

In the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we have also heard from our friend Doctor Robert Montgomery, a heart transplant recipient and transplant surgeon, on the importance of a third vaccine dose for transplant patients. We heard from other professionals as well on how they are working with the kidney community to help keep us safe.

Finally, we heard from our friend Doctor Paul Palevsky, President of the National Kidney Foundation and Deputy Director of the Veterans Administration Kidney Disease and Dialysis Program on the tremendous research and innovation efforts underway at the VA. As a Marine Corps veteran and father of three service members, I am proud of the work Doctor Palevsky and the U.S. Civil Servants are doing at the VA. AAKP stands by their side in every way to provide America's veterans with the latest innovations in kidney care.

After our time together today, I hope you are as encouraged and as motivated as I am - because one thing is clear.  Today in America and across the globe, kidney patients are indeed the drivers behind innovations in kidney care.  Kidney patient consumers demand change, we have a place at the policy table, our views are respected, and our insights are in demand across every sector, including research, industry and government.

But to maintain momentum - we need to stay engaged - and bring more people into our efforts and the decision process. Please share the results of today with your friends. AAKP will make all of our sessions available on OnDemand through our website and AAKP YouTube Channel after the meeting. 

And please - register to vote through AAKP's Kidney Voter program. Our voice is respected within the process - and it cannot be ignored when we act locally and globally as a community.

Thank you for joining us today, we look forward to your participation tomorrow for Day 2.