For more than 30 years, Puget Sound Kidney Centers has offered quality care to those suffering from the effects of chronic kidney disease in Snohomish, Skagit and Island County, but last year, CEO Harold Kelly noticed there was a way to make care even better for patients. The organization launched a series of free courses titled “Survive and Thrive with Chronic Kidney Disease,” which offers resources about treatment options as well as nutritional and exercise tips that will slow the irreversible disease.
The series includes six 90-minute courses led by experts in the organization, focusing on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. It also includes cooking demonstrations and help with reading labels at the grocery store. The course is currently offered at Puget Sound Kidney Centers’ Mountlake Terrace location, but it will next be offered at its Everett location. The goal is to eventually have the classes offered at all six of the organization’s locations, helping patients be active and healthy.
Lifestyle and prevention play particularly large roles in kidney health, with the main causes of chronic kidney disease being diabetes and high blood pressure. Across the country, 26 million Americans suffer from chronic kidney disease. Some of the biggest keys to kidney health are keeping sodium intake under control and developing a healthy exercise routine, according to Puget Sound Kidney Centers.
Enrollment in the classes has been high so far, with classes bringing in as many as 30 at a time, and with local advertising, members of the community have come just to learn tips on how to be healthier and prevent kidney disease. After each six-week series ends, another begins three weeks later for an entirely new group.
“We just believe in this, trying to improve the lives of patients,” Harold said. “Puget Sound Kindey Centers is working hard through a comprehensive chronic kidney disease program to catch patients early so they never have to digress to kidney failure.”
In honor of National Kidney Month, Washingtonians can be proud to recognize the great efforts in our state to improve kidney health and make our communities healthier.
Click here to learn more about the Survive and Thrive with Chronic Kidney Disease classes and to register for an upcoming series. (Tim Pfarr)