The National Kidney Foundation of Illinois (NKFI) is bringing its statewide prevention and education campaign to Norwegian American Hospital on Friday, May 16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., offering free kidney disease screenings to high-risk individuals. The KidneyMobile® is the nation’s first mobile classroom and screening lab that detects chronic kidney disease. The number of people in this country with kidney disease has risen to 26 million people and nearly 1 million in Illinois have been diagnosed with kidney disease. The two primary causes of chronic kidney disease are untreated hypertension and diabetes. Together, they represent approximately 70 percent of new chronic kidney disease cases every year. This year alone, thousands of people across Illinois have been diagnosed with kidney failure because they did not receive early screening and prevention services. The NKFI’s mobile screening and education campaign is focused on prevention by bringing access to early screening services directly into the highest-risk communities across the state. The KidneyMobile® travels across the state, providing screenings, prevention programs and educational materials to communities in the greatest need, targeting African-American and Latino communities, which are at the greatest risk for developing kidney disease because of undetected or untreated diabetes and hypertension. The KidneyMobile® is focused on bringing tools and resources to the primary health care community as it rolls across the state to empower them in their prevention and treatment of chronic kidney disease. Once the KidneyMobile® has visited Norwegian American Hospital, NKFI will follow up with all participants who need further care with an educational program, presented by a health care professional, to discuss the role of exercise, diet and medication on kidney function.
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