Did you know that 40% of chronic kidney disease progression may be preventable with earlier diagnosis and treatment? On this episode, you will hear the facts around treating CKD earlier from Dr. Joe Vassalotti, NKF’s Chief Medical Officer. You will also hear from Jane DeMeis on her journey with kidney disease.

In this episode we spoke with, 

Joseph A. Vassalotti . MD

Dr. Vassalotti is the Chief Medical Officer of the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) and Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology, at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. At NKF, his major focus is implementation of evidence based clinical practice guidelines in chronic kidney disease (CKD). He led collaborations to develop the Kidney Health Evaluation for Adults with Diabetes quality measure to improve evidenced based estimated glomerular filtration guide detection, risk stratification and interventions rate and albuminuria testing to proportional to risk also served as PI for an AARP in the U.S. He funded Kidney Health Evaluation for Adults with Diabetes to analyze quality measure satisfaction with detection, evidenced Platform based therapies and health equity. Currently, he serves as Principal Investigator for the Kidney Score , an NKF educational project funded by the Veterans Administration Center for Innovation to improve awareness and education among Veterans with and at risk for CKD in the primary care setting. He is also a coinvestigator for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s CKD Surveillance Project. Dr. Vassalotti typically sees approximately 40 patients per week and has over 100 publications in peer reviewed journals.

Jane DeMeis

Ms. DeMeis became involved with the National Kidney Foundation in 2018 after she was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney disease. Previously, Ms. DeMeis had been in stage three since 2010 and also developed diabetes. Ms. DeMeis attended classes, read and took training and became very knowledgeable about nutrition and lifestyle for CKD. She is a certified Kidney Coach. Ms. DeMeis is the Chairperson of the Perinton Ambulance Corps and when COVID allows will be bringing kidney education to their Community Outreach program. 

Do you have comments, questions, or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. Also, make sure to rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts.

Additional Resources: 

Early Diagnosis of Kidney Disease: Incentivizing Comprehensive Testing