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In honor of National Kidney Month, the Kidney Education Outreach Program (KEOP) traveled to the North Carolina General Assembly on Wednesday, March 4th to speak with legislators about the burden of kidney disease in our state, to highlight the NC Task Force on Chronic Kidney Disease recommendations, and to showcase the efforts of the KEOP. Since 2006, the KEOP has screened over 1,800 at-risk citizens and is initiating outreach in 3 additional counties in 2009.

Senator Ed Jones (D-4) and Senator Bill Purcell (D-25) spoke about how the KEOP has affected their districts in a positive way by raising CKD awareness and by providing free screenings to at-risk constituents. Legislators and staff members were taken through our screening process and many elected to be screened. In line with the NC CKD Task Force recommendations, legislation has been filed in both houses to support expansion of the KEOP’s targeted screening and awareness activities.

Following the screening activities in the Legislative Building the KEOP mobile outreach unit parked at the corner of Lane and Wilmingotn streets to provide the government complex access to free CKD screening. It was a busy day in the capitol and an excellent opportunity to promote community based efforts to increase awareness and early detection of kidney disease in our state!

Click here to listen to the audio from this event. Speaking: Dr. Ron Falk, Senator Ed Jones, Donna Harward, Caroline Jennette.

NC General Assembly
From left: Donna Harward, Senator Bill Purcell, Dr. Ron Falk

NC General Assembly
From left: Rep.William, Rep. England, Dr. Ron Falk, Rep. Holliman, Sen. Brown

NC General Assembly
Nurse Lynn McCoy chats with a screening participant