This post is a plea for your support. I want you to support me, to support yourself, to support chronic kidney disease (CKD) research. How you are asking? I’m asking you to use a new search engine called goodsearch.com http://www.goodsearch.com/ If you select the Northwest Kidney Centers as who you “GoodSearch for” NKC will use the money raised for CKD research.
Follow these easy steps:
· Log on to www.goodsearch.com
· Type “Northwest Kidney Centers” into the “Who do you GoodSearch for?” box
· Hit “Verify”
· Then, search the internet!
I’m coming out of the closet in this post. I am ready to announce that I am pro CKD research. I believe that we need research independent of the renal industrial complex. We need CKD research that finds solutions to fundamental problems.
I think Seattle is where this research should take place and I think the Northwest Kidney Centers (NKC) is who should lead this effort. The NKC mission is to promote the optimal health, quality of life and independence of people with kidney disease, through patient care, education, and research. I applaud NKC for their vision that optimal CKD care is a combination of care, education and research.
It is like a tricycle. The big wheel in front – providing the power and steering – is direct dialyzor care. The two back wheels – education and research – are what gives the effort stability. This has worked for a long time, for Forty Five years to be exact. The Northwest Kidney Centers is forty five years old this month (happy birthday NKC!) and we are rightly proud of the forty five years of service to the Northwest and the world. However, it is time for a dedicated research effort. To extend the metaphor it’s time NKC grew up and switched to a bicycle of patient care driven by education/knowledge.
In this, its forty-fifth year of operation, I hope this is the birthday present NKC gives all of us – this year I am hoping NKC will spin off one of its “tires” to launch a dedicated CKD research effort. A research effort who’s mission is to promote the optimal health, quality of life and independence of people with kidney disease through research. A CKD research effort that would access National Institute of Health (NIH) funds that are available but because of the lack of CKD research infrastructure they sit unused. We need to build the infrastructure that will allow us to direct NIH research funds to the problems associated with CKD.
So what can we do? What can you do? Vote yes. Tell NKC that this is what we need, what we dialyzors want. You can do this by using goodsearch.com . Each time you search you raise a penny for CKD research but more importantly you will communicate to the NKC community that you too believe we need CKD research and that you would like NKC to lead an effort to create a dedicated non-profit CKD research effort. A research effort independent of the renal industrial complex.
I have been part of a NKC CKD research task force for over four years. I support the effort; now is the time I need you to show your support. The penny per search will help but even more import will be the apparent votes of confidence. Vote for NKC, vote for CKD research: select NKC to be who you GoodSearch for!
I will continue to post to this thread about why CKD research is important to me (hint: it’s about Hope), why Seattle is the place to do it (We did it before, we can do it again) and how we are doing in making this a reality (Pretty good but I need your help). This can happen, it will make a difference and you can be a part of it.
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