Introduction
The treatment of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in America has become one of the key issues of public health care. This ailment causes a significant number of deaths, and it affects not only adults but also children. Today, patients can find a sufficient number of medical centers and national resources that help cope with CKD. If we consider the community of Florida, several official centers study and treat patients at different stages of the disease. These organizations include the National Kidney Foundation of Florida, the American Association of Kidney Patients, and the University of Florida Health Shands Hospital.
National Kidney Foundation of Florida
According to Said, Desai, and Lerma (2015), chronic kidney disease is a health problem that is overgrowing. The program National Kidney Foundation of Florida includes a full complex of treatment of patients with CKD and is engaged not only in diagnostics but also in researching the problem of this disease. The National Kidney Foundation of Florida offers an extended range of diagnostic procedures and helps people to learn more about this dangerous illness to prevent its occurrence and reduce mortality (National Kidney Foundation of Florida, 2017). Moreover, the organization provides patients with the possibility of free diagnostics, which includes a full study of the body and the identification of potential risks.
The advantages of The National Kidney Foundation of Florida include a big base of professional doctors, as well as the modern methods of treatment. One of the main disadvantages of the community is a rather high demand for its services because the foundation operates at the federal level. As a consequence, getting into the center and having qualified help in a short time is not very easy. Nevertheless, the organization is in demand and acceptable for all categories of the population.
The assistance of this foundation can be considered as one of the aspects of patients’ treatment course. If a person with CKD has an acute need for treatment, he or she can always turn to this community and get professional help from specialists. This resource is easy to find as it is popular in the US and, in particular, in Florida, but, as it has already been mentioned, the demand for its services is quite high; therefore, there may be a slight delay in the provision of services.
American Association of Kidney Patients
The primary objectives of the American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP) are to train patients with CKD, advocate prevention ideas, and promote patient communities. The center is located in Florida, but the foundation treats patients from all over the country. Only professional doctors work here, and the association has been active since 1969 (American Association of Kidney Patients, 2017). This national organization works annually with more than 1 million people and assists all the categories of the population without exception.
AAKP works to improve the quality of life of patients with kidney diseases. The main advantages of this association are free training and diagnostics, as well as the development of a large community base of patients with CKD throughout the country. Perhaps, the organization does not have disadvantages. Probably, the only thing worth paying attention to is the necessity to enlarge the number of specialists since the number of people wishing to receive highly qualified treatment is constantly increasing.
The participation of a patient in the AAKP program can be included in a treatment plan quite justifiably. Besides, it is not difficult to find this resource because its activity is known throughout the US, and its contacts are directly on the site. If any aged patient experiences problems with the search, the specialists of the organization are always ready to come to the rescue, contact the patient, and provide services for transportation to the center.
University of Florida Health Shands Hospital
This medical center of Florida provides ongoing support to patients with CKD. The hospital experts annually perform more than 150 transplantations and daily work with several dozens of cases. The foundation provides a rather large number of services. They are diagnosis and measurement of general body parameters, monitoring, and recommendations of experienced physicians, as well as physiotherapy procedures designed to improve the overall tone of the body and benefit the healing process (University of Florida Health Nephrology – Shands hospital, 2017).
It is possible to pay for the center’s services on its website, and a patient can do it after and before the treatment. Shands Hospital is suitable for all who need help. The organization works with all the categories of the population, including both adults and children. To become a participant in the program, a patient can apply for help online or by contacting specialists directly by phone. In addition to treatment, the hospital is ready to offer transportation services to any patient.
As for the program itself, the therapy of this community can be considered one of the stages of the complex treatment of CKD. If a person seeks help with the treatment of kidney disease, UF Health Shands Hospital will be one of the first organizations he can find. The popularity of the center is due to the continued period of work in the market of medical services and a sufficiently large volume of grateful patients. It means that there will be no difficulties during the search for this resource, and the chance to remain fully satisfied with the treatment provided will be rather high.
General Evaluation of the Resources
According to the information that has been examined, it can be said that all three communities offer quite qualified assistance in the provision of CKD treatment. The opportunity to become a member of center programs is available to anyone, at the same time, the National Kidney Foundation of Florida and the American Association of Kidney Patients offer free diagnostics and determine the best course of treatment. All three communities are easy to find, and each of them has a service for transporting critically ill patients. Due to the high incidence of kidney disease, some centers do not have enough places; therefore, patients sometimes have to wait for their turn. It may be the only significant disadvantage, which, however, is not the cause of poor community’s work.
Thus, the work of national resources aimed at the treatment of patients with chronic kidney disease is quite active. The National Kidney Foundation of Florida, the American Association of Kidney Patients, and the University of Florida Health Shands Hospital are among the most famous centers of Florida. The work of all these resources is carried out quite actively so that the population could receive timely qualified help and be aware of the problems associated with kidney diseases.
References
American Association of Kidney Patients. (2017). Web.
National Kidney Foundation of Florida. (2017). Web.
Said, A., Desai, C., & Lerma, E. V. (2015). Chronic kidney disease. Disease-a-Month, 61(9), 374-377.
University of Florida Heath Nephrology – Shands hospital. (2017). Web.