Grant Award News
Dialysis News
Transplant News
Press Releases
News Articles
Grant Award News
Chronic Kidney Disease Surveillance Project awarded to UM-KECC
- Principal Investigator: Rajiv Saran, MD, MRCP, MS
- Coinvestigators:
- Eric Young, MD, MS
- Brenda Gillespie, PhD
- Friedrich Port, MD, MS (Arbor Research, Ann Arbor)
- William Herman, MD
- Randall Webb, BA
- Jerry Yee, MD (Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, MI
Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is now recognized as a major public health problem for which a comprehensive public health approach is urgently needed. Dr. Rajiv Saran, MD, MRCP, MS, Associate Professor of Medicine, and his team at the Kidney Epidemiology and Cost Center (UM-KECC) were recently awarded a 2-year grant by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in order to pilot a National Surveillance System for Chronic Kidney Disease in the US. The CDC has similarly funded the Welch Center at Johns Hopkins University (PI: Dr Neil Powe, MD, MPH, MBA), to work collaboratively with the UM-KECC and the CDC toward developing and testing this surveillance system. A CKD surveillance system would serve to assess the prevalence and impact of CKD on our health care system and provide a quantitative assessment of the resources utilized by those with CKD. It would also assess the quality of care delivered to those with this condition and identify areas where quality improvements could be made in order to slow progression of disease (and therefore the need for renal replacement therapy) as well as reduce the high morbidity and mortality associated with this condition. The methodology proposed by the team at UM-KECC includes examination of both national as well as local data sources relevant to CKD. It is also envisaged that data from a representative group of managed care plans and the veterans affairs health system will form part of this surveillance model. Dr. Jerry Yee at the Henry Ford Hospital will be conducting CKD surveillance within the Health Alliance Plan of Detroit as a component of this surveillance project. Successful feasibility and pilot testing of the proposed system will be essential to allow the establishment of national CKD surveillance that will likely shape quality improvement, promote research and inform health policy related to CKD.
Reimbursement of Travel Expenses and Subsistence Costs for Living Organ Donors
Drs. Akinlolu Ojo and Robert Merion, and The American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS) have received a major grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The 4-year grant will provide reimbursement of travel expenses and subsistence costs for living organ donors, removing an important financial disincentive to living organ donation. As part of the efforts to "increase organ donation," the UM-ASTS project team will work closely with HRSA to develop an efficient nationwide system to identify potential live organ donors who face financial hardship in meeting travel and subsistence expenses associated with the process of evaluation and undergoing live organ donation procedures. The project scientists will critically evaluate the specific impact of the reimbursement program on facilitating live organ donations that would not have otherwise been possible. Under provisions of the grant, a National Living Donor Assistance Center will be established at the ASTS National Office, and the vast majority of the $8 million grant will be used for direct reimbursements to potential and actual living donors.
The UM-ASTS Project Team consists of the following individuals:
- Project Director: Akinlolu Ojo, MD, PhD (University of Michigan, Department of Internal Medicine)
- Deputy Project Director: Robert M. Merion, MD (University of Michigan, Department of Surgery)
- Project Manager: Katrina Crist, MBA (ASTS)
- Project Research Scientist: Barry Hong, PhD (Washington University, St. Louis)
Under the leadership of this talented and proven team of professionals, it is estimated that the grant will make live organ donation possible for an additional 800-1,000 individuals annually.
Dialysis News
Newly Renovated Acute Dialysis Unit Re-Opens
On Friday, October 12, 2007, the newly renovated Acute Dialysis Unit re-opened on 7DS. For the preceding 7 weeks, dialysis care had been provided on a temporary unit on 8D while construction occurred. This project was the culmination of years of planning and provided key upgrades in the areas of patient safety, patient comfort and staff efficiency.
Highlights of some of the improvements to the unit:
- Installation of overhead lighting for better visibility.
- Installation of radiant heat panels in each dialysis cubicle capable of providing individualized ambient temperature control.
- Installation of overhead patient lifts in each cubicle to provide for safer patient transfers and less physical demands on staff.
- Upgraded sinks and cabinetry in each dialysis cubicle.
- Structural re-organization of the unit layout to provide improved visibility of patients at all times.
- Renovated nursing station providing increased nursing workspace.
The Livonia Dialysis Unit featured in the Observer & Eccentric Newspapers (April 9, 2006)
"Another World - Dialysis patients put their lives on hold" by Linda Ann Chomin, Staff Writer, Observer & Eccentric Newspapers
Click here for scan of actual article
Click here for text only version of article
"Give life by signing up for organ donation registry" by Linda Ann Chomin, Staff Writer, Observer & Eccentric Newspapers
Click here for web link to article
Click here for text only version of article
Nocturnal Hemodialysis Program implemented (April 2006)
Transplant News
The University of Michigan Hospital is listed as the 6th most active renal transplant center in 2004 by Nephrology News & Issues (November 2005). NN&I tabulated data supplied by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Centers are ranked based on the number of renal transplants performed, including Medicare and non-Medicare patients (combined kidney-pancreas transplants and Veterans Administration transplant center data was not included).
Press Releases
Shayman new associate VP for research
CMS Awards Contract for Multiple Research Studies to URREA
U-M launches Michigan Comprehensive Diabetes Center (September 20, 2005)
The following do not represent all of the releases that have been released by the University, only those pertaining to our Nephrology department. For a listing of all releases please check out the News Release page.
News Articles:
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