AAKP to Live Stream National Health Policy Forum
American Association of Kidney Patients Will Live Stream National Health Policy Update
TAMPA, FL – Today the American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP) announced it will live stream its public policy session, Under the U.S. Capitol Dome: Issues Impacting Your Healthcare, at the 41st AAKP National Patient Meeting. The AAKP National Patient Meeting takes place September 25 – 27 at the Nashville Marriott Airport in Nashville, TN.
The session will highlight current public policy issues under consideration by both the United States Congress and the Executive Branch that are of potential concern to kidney patients, family members and caregivers.
The live streaming of the AAKP public policy update will take place Friday, September 25th from 10:15am – 11:15am. Visit the AAKP website, www.aakp.org, to view the presentation live.
The session participants include Paul T. Conway, AAKP President and kidney transplant recipient; Tod Ibrahim, Executive Director of the American Society of Nephrology; Dale Singer, Executive Director of the Renal Physicians Association; and Richard Knight, AAKP Vice President and Chair of Public Policy.
AAKP President Paul T. Conway stated, “We are pleased to have long-time allies participating in our national patient meeting to both educate patients on policy issues that impact their future health outcomes and to encourage them to get more involved in the policy process. The American Society of Nephrology and the Renal Physicians Association are highly credible and respected national health policy stakeholders and under the leadership of Tod Ibrahim and Dale Singer, they have each expanded their influence among law-makers for highly accurate and well-timed expertise.”
The session, Under the U.S. Capitol Dome: Issues Impacting Your Healthcare will provide an update on key Federal legislation, policies impacting living kidney donors, Federal government efforts to increase patient engagement in healthcare and give tips on how patients and caregivers can engage their elected leaders.
AAKP will also unveil the new AAKP Center for Patient Engagement and Advocacy, which will offer online training guides for advocacy as well as the first-ever online certification program for kidney patient advocacy.
At the conference, patients and their caregivers will gain information and advocacy skills they need to be even more effective in using their voices and experiences to improve access and quality of care for kidney patients and to influence public policy decisions.
In additional to a broad range of relationships in the United States Congress and among allied kidney organizations, AAKP works very closely with Federal agencies and senior leaders across government to inform policy and regulatory decisions related to kidney disease care and prevention as well as dialysis and kidney transplantation. These agencies include the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), as well as the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).
The AAKP National Patient Meeting is a collaborative effort with support fromVanderbilt University Medical Center, the Tennessee Kidney Foundation and End-Stage Renal Disease Network 8, Inc., Home Dialyzors United and TransplantFirst Academy. The AAKP Annual National Patient Meeting is the largest kidney patient education and advocacy meeting held in the United States. The meeting is an achievement made possible by the efforts of countless patients, families and healthcare professionals who have been affected by kidney disease. AAKP is excited to have two of the leading kidney professional advocacy organizations as participants.
The American Society of Nephrology consists of more than 15,000 members, and leads the fight against kidney disease by educating health professionals, sharing new knowledge, and advancing research, and advocating the highest quality care for patients. The Renal Physicians Association is the leading advocacy organization for the nephrology community and includes more than 3,500 members. RPA works to influence and, where appropriate, change laws, regulations, and public programs to accomplish its mission – to ensure the nephrologist’s ability to provide the best medical services to kidney patients.
AAKP is a voluntary non-profit organization founded by kidney patients, which for more than 45 years, has been dedicated to improving the quality of life of kidney patients through education, advocacy and the fostering of patient communities. The programs offered by AAKP inform and inspire patients and their families to better understand their condition, adjust more readily to their circumstances, and assume more normal, productive lives in their communities.
