Several factors emerging during the COVID pandemic combined to form a perfect storm that significantly reduced access to outpatient dialysis for patients in Oregon and Washington. Many people had to board in hospitals to receive dialysis. At one point, an estimated 450 patients in the two states boarded in hospitals for several months while awaiting access to outpatient dialysis. Comagine Health ESRD Network 16 convened a coalition of hospital administrators, discharge planners, dialysis providers and ESRD educators to find ways to facilitate urgent-start dialysis. The coalition identified key barriers to urgent-start dialysis and then developed solutions for overcoming those barriers.

This 2023 CMS Quality Conference poster details our methods and results.

You can connect with other individuals who live with kidney disease and have learned to manage day-to-day challenges. Finding support beyond that offered by family and friends can help with coping.