The mission of the National Kidney Foundation of Southeast Texas is to prevent kidney and urinary tract diseases, improve the overall health and well-being of those affected by these diseases and increase the availability of all organs for transplantation.
Kidney disease is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. today. It affects 20 million people, taking approximately 80,000 lives each year. In Texas, kidney disease affects every 25th person, and kills every 30th. Kidney disease kills more Americans annually than automobile accidents.
Many patients depend upon dialysis to sustain life. For many of these patients, a kidney transplant is the only hope to return to a normal lifestyle. Although this treatment is common practice today, fewer than a quarter of the patients waiting for a kidney will receive one because they lack a suitable donor. The number of new patients waiting for a kidney transplant steadily grows each year.
The National Kidney Foundation is the only National Health Agency established for and dedicated to the total eradication of kidney disease. Chartered in 1965, the National Kidney Foundation of Southeast Texas is committed to carry out this mandate.
GOALS
The National Kidney Foundation of Southeast Texas is committed to developing, and sustaining programs with the following goals in mind:
- Supporting Research and Research Training
- Continuing Education of Health Care Professionals
- Expanding Patient Services and Community Resources
- Educating the Public
- Shaping Public Policy
- Fund Raising
Research and Research Training- Research has led to significant advances in our understanding of kidney disease. To turn that understanding into new methods of prevention and ultimately a cure, more answers are needed. Support for research to find these answers is one of the NKF's leading priorities.
On a national level, the Foundation's Research Program includes 63 awards, representing a total commitment of almost $2 million to research. The National Kidney Foundation of Southeast Texas's Research Endowment currently stands at over a quarter of a million dollars.
Continuing Education of Health Care Professionals- The NKF supports clinicians and scientists in the field of nephrology by providing continuing education, developing practice guidelines, fostering research, and shaping health policy affecting renal health professionals and patients. Our physician, scientist, and pharmacist members now number over 3,700, and are a driving force behind the scientific-medical function of the organization.
Patient Services and Community Resources- The ultimate goal and mission of the National Kidney Foundation is the eradication of diseases of the kidney and urinary tract. Kidney and urologic diseases affect approximately 20 million Americans, and millions more are at risk. Kidney disease is one of costliest illnesses in the U.S. today. The foundation provides a wide range of patient and community service programs to patients and their families.
Educating the Public- Educating the public on the causes and effects of kidney and urologic diseases and organ donation has always been a top priority of the National Kidney Foundation of Southeast Texas. The Affiliate provides the public with free information through three mass media educational campaigns, the Holiday Gift of Life campaign, National Kidney Month, and National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Week. In addition, the Southeast Texas Affiliate launched a children's educational program called "Kidneys in the Classroom" to help school-age children understand the importance of the kidneys, how they function what it means when they fail.
Shaping Public Policy- Lobbying efforts by the National Kidney Foundation for extended Medicare coverage of immunosuppressive (anti-rejection) medications for transplant patients paid off. In the year 2000, Congress approved HR4577, a Medicare Bill that included a provision called the Beneficiary Improvements and Protection Act (BIPA). The provision, which became effective December 21, extends lifetime coverage to transplant recipients who were eligible for Medicare at the time of the transplant. The new legislation does not expand the entitlement to new transplant recipients, but rather extends the benefit for those who were already entitled.
In addition, through its participation in the Texas Renal Coalition, the Southeast Texas Affiliate was effective in getting Organ Donor Leave legislation introduced before the state legislature. The Organ Donor Leave Act, which has already been passed in Wisconsin and Maryland, guarantees state employees up to 30 days paid leave for becoming a living donor. The Act was passed by Congress in 1999 for federal employees and allows living donors to take up to 30 days paid leave without affecting their vacation or sick time.
Fund Raising- The National Kidney Foundation of Southeast Texas would be unable to continue its important work in the community without the support of the public. Fund raising helps to build community awareness and raise much-needed revenue for patient services and programs.