When the novel coronavirus was identified in 2019 and impacted the world in 2020, ASN's Excellence in Patient Care (EPC) formed a “COVID-19 Response Team.” The purpose of this group was to bring together nephrology leaders and offer a common space to communicate, collaborate, and gain understanding of the unique and critical needs for patients with kidney diseases. The COVID-19 Response Team was able to offer support for the entire kidney community with consistent, trusted, timely information and education. Workgroups were formed to focus activities across four domains:
Acute Hospital Kidney Care
Home Dialysis
Outpatient Dialysis
Transplant
Highlights of work completed by the COVID-19 Response Team include:
Online Learning Modules
COVID-19 Lessons from the Kidney Community
https://epc.asn-online.org/learning_course/covid-19-lessons-from-the-kidney-community/
COVID-19 Toolkit for Nephrology Clinicians: Preparing for a Surge
Pursuing Mental Wellness: The Impact of COVID-19 on Dialysis Facility Staff
https://epc.asn-online.org/learning_course/pursuing-mental-wellness-the-impact-of-covid/
Resource Library, grouped by category
https://epc.asn-online.org/projects/covid-19/covid-19-resource-library/
ASN COVID-19 Resources
CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] COVID-19 Information
CMS [Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services] COVID-19 Updates
COVID-19 Immunization
COVID-19 Vaccines and Therapeutics
Other Health Care Organizations on COVID-19
Publications Focusing on COVID-19
Webinar: COVID-19 Therapeutics and the Kidney Transplant Community
https://epc.asn-online.org/videos/covid-19-therapeutics-and-the-kidney-transplant-community/
Following the expiration of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency on May 11, ASN's EPC incorporated COVID-19 as a focus in the Current and Emerging Threats (C-ET) initiative. C-ET was created to enhance the quality of life for people with kidney diseases by engaging nephrologists and nephrology leaders in transformational change that continuously improves the safety of life-sustaining dialysis, specifically in the area of current and emerging bacterial, viral, and fungal threats.
Current activities within the C-ET Steering Committee and its workgroups include:
A compendium to address multi-drug-resistant organisms, specifically Candida auris and tuberculosis, among populations with end stage kidney disease, with more organisms to be included in future iterations. This resource will provide information on the organism, recommendations for care, and frequently asked questions.
A virtual “COVID-19 After-Action” meeting is being planned for November 13, 2023. This meeting will review the impact of the pandemic on patients with kidney diseases, review successes to the response of the pandemic, and discuss opportunities for improvement for future threats. Ensuring that a broad range of perspectives is shared, ASN's EPC is partnering with the CDC, the White House, academic and private-practice nephrologists, transplant nephrologists, surgeons, dialysis company chief medical and nursing officers, kidney community groups, patients, and other government agencies.
A “Leadership in Crisis and Uncertainty” pilot, based on the clinical dyad leadership model, is being planned for launch in the fall of 2023. This important training will provide nephrology leaders essential skills for future times of crisis and position them differentially to guide teams through the uncertainty.
Visit the CE-T website (https://epc.asn-online.org/projects/current-and-emerging-threats/) to explore all of the resources that C-ET Workgroups have to offer.