Making Dialysis Safer For Patients Coalition

2017 Making Dialysis Safer for Patients Coalition Partner Meeting

The second annual Making Dialysis Safer for Patients Coalition meeting was held in Atlanta, September 7 and 8, and successfully brought together 108 leaders in dialysis care or infection prevention to share best practices for bloodstream infection (BSI) prevention in dialysis settings. Themes for the meeting included creating and sustaining momentum for change, patient empowerment, and connecting public health and dialysis providers. Representatives from all 56 Coalition Partners were invited, including state health departments, dialysis providers, End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Networks, patient organizations, professional organizations, and federal agencies. Active partnership outreach led to an increase in the number of Coalition Partners (from 13 to 56 Partner organizations) in the past year and a dramatic increase in attendance at this meeting compared to the 2016 Coalition kick-off meeting.

The morning session began with a panel: Patient Perspectives on Infection Prevention in Hemodialysis Centers. This panel of current and former patients set the tone for the meeting and highlighted the importance of patient engagement and empowerment, which became an overarching theme of discussions throughout the meeting.  Additional session topics included Coalition updates and accomplishments, results of infection control assessments in dialysis facilities, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) approaches to improving infection prevention in dialysis centers, and partner efforts to engage patients, and create physician leadership for change in dialysis settings.

In the afternoon, attendees participated in a session that included 20 poster presentations submitted by Partners, a networking activity, and two breakout sessions focused on Coalition planning. In these breakouts, participants prioritized topics for workgroups to advance the goals of the Coalition in 2018, and discussed formats and preferences for a series of materials to facilitate the implementation of core interventions for BSI prevention.

On the second day, roughly half of the attendees reconvened to focus on health department-based healthcare-associated infection (HAI) programs and their connections to the dialysis provider community. Sessions included an HAI program and provider panel, and two breakouts. The first breakout was an interactive National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) data workshop that walked attendees through the use of the surveillance data for prevention and quality improvement. The second breakout addressed recent dialysis BSI outbreaks, and approaches to outbreak detection and response in dialysis facilities.

The Coalition meeting successfully supported Partner engagement, networking, and facilitated discussions among the diverse group of attendees, each with a unique contribution to BSI prevention and dialysis safety. Of the 60 attendees who completed evaluations for Day 1, 94% rated the overall discourse and productivity of the meeting as excellent or good.  Of the 42 attendees who completed evaluations on Day 2, 100% rated the overall discourse and productivity of the meeting as excellent or good.

American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Kidney Week 2017, Oct.31-Nov.5

For those who are attending Kidney Week 2017, the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Nephrologists Transforming Dialysis Safety (NTDS) Initiative, together with the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) are hosting “The Dialysis Infection Crisis: A Call to Action,”  an Early Program on November 1, 2017.

This one-day Early Program, chaired by Alan S. Kliger, MD, and Priti R. Patel, MD, MPH, will focus on improving the safety of life-sustaining dialysis and protecting patients and healthcare personnel from infections. Copies of Coalition resources, including the “Days Since Infection” poster will be available during this session.

Another item of interest is the Poster Session for the Dialysis: Infection topic being held November 2, 2017 from 10:00 AM to noon.

In addition, Duc B. Nguyen, MD from CDC will be presenting “HCV Prevention: Role of Infection Control in Hemodialysis Facilities” November 2, 2017 from 12:45PM- 1:45PM. This is within the Educational Symposium titled “Onward and Upward: Hepatitis C Prevention and Treatment.”

Lastly, Alan S. Kliger, MD and Priti R. Patel, MD, MPH will be moderating the Clinical Practice Session, “Infection Prevention: Are You Prepared for the Next ‘Ebola’?” November 3, 2017 from 2:00 PM- 4:00 PM. This session will address the urgent need to enhance infection prevention for all infectious threats in U.S. dialysis facilities.

Days Since Infection Poster

The Making Dialysis Safer for Patients Coalition’s newest resource, the Days Since Infection Poster, is a great way to raise awareness about dialysis bloodstream infections. Preventing infections is essential for patient safety. Using this wall poster, we encourage you to display the number of days that have passed since the last bloodstream infection in your facility. Here are 5 steps for you and your organization to use this resource:

1. Get the poster!
   • Order free laminated copies from CDC-INFO on Demand (change ‘Publications per page’ drop down to 25).
   • Download and print a fillable PDF version with a placeholder for your organization’s logo.

Fillable version (add your organization logo)

8.5 x 11 (PDF)

11 x 17 (PDF)

Non Fillable version (available through CDC-INFO)

8.5 x 11 (PDF)   Pub ID 300199

11 x 17 (PDF)    Pub ID 300200

2. Find your facility’s most recent bloodstream infection date by using NHSN or other internal tracking systems. Fill in the poster.
3. Display this poster in areas visible to patients, family members, and staff.
4. Start a discussion about infection prevention. Engage staff and patients to generate excitement and motivation to keep the number of days since the last infection growing!
5. Establish a way to regularly update the poster.

We want to hear from you!

• Connect with the Coalition on Twitter using the official hashtag #DialysisPatientsFirst
• Share a photo of the poster at your facility on social media
• Send your success stories and plans for the poster to DialysisCoalition@cdc.gov

Coalition Feature: Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN)

The Coalition was featured in CJASN in an article titled, “The Making Dialysis Safer for Patients Coalition: A New Partnership to Prevent Hemodialysis-Related Infections”. The Making Dialysis Safer for Patients Coalition is led by CDC, in collaboration with the CDC Foundation. This public-private partnership strives to improve adherence to evidence-based recommendations, share information and experience, and engage patients in infection prevention efforts.

Newest Coalition Partners

The Coalition continues to grow! Since launching on September 27, 2016, we have expanded to include 58 Partners. We value each of you! Coalition Partners are listed on our website. This webpage is updated periodically to reflect new Partners as they come on board. New Partners since the Coalition’s April newsletter include:

• American Renal Associates
• Annual Dialysis Conference
• End Stage Renal Disease Network of Texas, Inc. (14)
• National Forum of ESRD Networks
• New Jersey Department of Health
• Oregon Patient Safety Commission
• Pennsylvania Department of Health
• Quality Insights Renal Network 3
• US Renal Care

We continue to reach out to additional Partners and will let you know as others join the Coalition. For more information on Coalition partnership, email: DialysisCoalition@cdc.gov.

New for 2018- Coalition Partner Metrics and Recommitment

Partner Metrics: Beginning in January 2018, the Coalition will introduce a mechanism for capturing Partner Metrics. When Partners originally committed to the Coalition, it was envisioned there would be a voluntary way to share experiences and activities. We are excited to implement a bi-annual form for self-reporting metrics. We would like Partners to share activities they have done within the four categories of their commitment letters:

• Implement core interventions
• Educate staff
• Generate awareness
• Share experiences and finding

This can include reporting of activities such as:

• Changes in facility policies or practices
• Approaches and efforts to prevent BSIs
• Social media posts and impressions
• Newsletter reach
• Email blasts
• Media inquiries
• Trainings hosted
• Audience size at presentations
• Number of materials distributed
• Number of participants reached
• Success stories or narratives

In addition, the form will capture prospective planning and recording of future activities. More information will be shared via email in early December.

Recommitment: As a reminder, initial commitment letters submitted by Partner organizations were through December 2017. To make the process for recommitment simple, the Coalition will be sending each Partner a letter via email, in mid-November, which confirms recommitment in the Coalition through December 2018.

The CDC Foundation will assume your organization wants to continue through 2018 and CDC will continue to list you on the Coalition website. If this is the case, no additional action will be needed. If your organization wishes to opt out of partnership, there will be instructions for how to do so in the letter.

Upcoming Activities

Please join us for the Making Dialysis Safer for Patients All Partners conference call Monday November 13, 2017 at 2:00 pm ET.

Stay tuned for more information about an upcoming Coalition “Tune in to Safe Healthcare” webinar in December.

Stay in Touch

We encourage you to share a story or photos demonstrating how you are putting #DialysisPatientsFirst and working to prevent bloodstream infections. To share your story or photo, email the Coalition at DialysisCoalition@cdc.gov. Stories have the opportunity to be highlighted in the Coalition newsletter.

Also, feel free to contact us at DialysisCoalition@cdc.gov to discuss your activities or role in the Coalition.