As a program coordinator for the Kidney Foundation of Central Pennsylvania, I have made it my life’s mission to help kidney patients manage their condition. I see or hear stories of the inadequate standards of care currently practiced at clinics, hospitals and specialist practices in this country. Many patients I talk to are frustrated and feel like they have been forgotten. We must do better. The problem lies in the lack of health care workers. A severe lack of funding makes it more difficult to hire and keep doctors, nurses and technicians. Much of the problem is demographic. With fewer [...]

My husband Raymond and I met on a blind date. Three months later, his kidney unexpectedly failed, and I have walked alongside him on his patient journey ever since. My husband’s life depends on dialysis, the treatment that does what his kidney can’t do. Unfortunately, we confronted problems with our dialysis center that reflect larger trends caused by insufficient reimbursements from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Our nation is confronting a demographic crisis, with fewer working-aged people and more patients, which is why we are seeing worsening shortages of health care workers. CMS’ reimbursements have been far [...]