TAMPA – A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck outside Port-au-Prince, Haiti on January 12, 2010. Disasters can severely limit the availability of chronic dialysis treatments for individuals living with end stage renal disease (ESRD), or kidney failure. The situation in Haiti was additionally compounded by the scarcity of dialysis before the earthquake. Following the catastrophic damage, healthcare providers were limited in providing lifesaving chronic or acute dialysis treatments.
In response, the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) initiated a task force consisting of partners from the ASN Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) and Dialysis Advisory Groups, the International Society of Nephrology, the Kidney Community Emergency Response (KCER) Coalition and the Florida ESRD Network, the National Kidney Foundation, the Sociedad Latino-Americana de Nefrologia e Hipertension, dialysis providers, industry leaders, and the U.S. Departments of State and Health and Human Services.
The KCER Coalition assisted in coordinating daily teleconferences and disseminating critical information to response agencies on the ground in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. This collaboration provided a timely and effective humanitarian response to Haitian earthquake victims. Due to being pinned under collapsed buildings, individuals who survive earthquakes and are pulled from rubble may develop rhabdomyolysis, or crush syndrome. Crush syndrome can lead to acute kidney failure or death if not quickly identified and treated. According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), crush syndrome occurs in 2-15% of earthquake victims. Half of the victims of crush syndrome will experience acute renal failure and half of those patients will need dialysis.
KCER will use this experience to develop best practices and outreach efforts to educate the U.S. renal community on how similar disasters could impact the provision of dialysis care. The response to Haiti and the impact of acute kidney injury will be topics of interest at this year’s KCER Summit. Held annually since the devastating impact of Hurricane Katrina, the Summit enables the renal community to stay abreast of current issues in disasters and provides a collaborative environment to advance the readiness of the renal community. This meeting is free and open to the public. The 2010 KCER Summit will be held from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 13 in Orlando, Florida. This meeting is being held in conjunction with the National Kidney Foundation Spring Clinical Meetings.
The Florida End Stage Renal Disease Network (Network 7) provides administrative support for the volunteer-driven KCER Coalition.
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This material was prepared by FMQAI, the End Stage Renal Disease Network for Florida (Network 7), under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The contents presented do not necessarily reflect CMS policy.
The Kidney Community Emergency Response (KCER) Coalition provides technical assistance to ESRD Networks, Medicare organizations, and other groups to ensure timely and efficient emergency preparedness, response, and recovery for the kidney community. KCER strives to provide resources to save lives, improve outcomes, empower patients and families, educate healthcare workers, build partnerships with stakeholders, promote awareness in the community, and support the ESRD Network Program.
