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NKF-MD Service Area

Maryland: Allegany, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Baltimore City, Caroline, Carroll, Cecil, Dorchester, Frederick, Garrett, Harford, Howard, Kent, Queen Anne's, Somerset, Talbot, Washington, Wicomico and Worcester counties.

Delaware: Kent and Sussex counties.

Virginia: Accomack and Northampton counties.

West Virginia: Berkeley, Grant, Hampshire, Jefferson, Mineral, Morgan and Tucker counties.

Welcome

The National Kidney Foundation of Maryland is dedicated to preventing kidney and urinary tract diseases, improving the health and well-being of individuals and families affected by these diseases and increasing the availability of all organs for transplantation.

Join us at Bulle Rock on Sept. 14!

Join us on Tuesday, Sept. 14 at Bulle Rock in Havre de Grace, Md., for one of the premier golf tournaments in the region, the Liberty Mutual Invitational, benefitting NKF-MD. This will be our 20th annual golf event for the Foundation.

The fun starts with a Pre-Event Party on Monday, Sept. 13 at the Havana Club in downtown Baltimore, featuring a casino event.

Learn more here.

Western Maryland Kidney Ride

set for Sept. 26 at Canal Place

The second annual Western Maryland Kidney Ride will take place on Sunday, September 26, 2010 at Canal Place in Cumberland. Join NKF-MD for this event as a rider, volunteer or sponsor.

Trail ride up to 44 miles round trip on the Great Allegheny Passage from Cumberland to Frostburg. You can enjoy the beautiful mountain scenery while pedaling on this well-maintained trail.

Special arrangements will be available to take your bike on the Western Maryland historic steam train "Mountain Thunder." Ride to Frostburg on the train and pedal down to Cumberland. Or you can ride up and back under your own steam!

Learn more and register here.

KEY Screenings

The National Kidney Foundation of Maryland continues its mission of early detection and early intervention through free KEY (Kidneys: Evaluate Yours) health screenings.

KEY screenings, held throughout our service area, identify early markers for high blood pressure, diabetes and kidney disease. Pre-registration is not necessary and anyone can participate.

Here are some upcoming KEY screening dates and locations:

Tues., Sept. 21 -- Reisterstown Senior Center

12035 Reisterstown Rd., Reisterstown 21136

9 a.m. to noon

Sat., Sept. 25 -- Church of the Redeemed Lord

4321 Old York Road, Baltimore 21212

11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Sat., Oct. 23 -- St. Patrick's Latino Health Fair

1728 Bank St. (at Bdwy.), Baltimore 21231

10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Income, race combine to make

'perfect storm' for kidney disease

African-Americans with incomes below the poverty line have a significantly higher risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) than higher-income African-Americans or whites of any socioeconomic status, research led by scientists at Johns Hopkins and the National Institute on Aging shows.

Conducted in a racially and socioeconomically diverse sample of participants from the city of Baltimore, Md., the study could help researchers eventually develop strategies to prevent CKD in vulnerable populations.

Findings from the study are reported online and appear in the June 2010 print edition of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases. Learn more here.

National Kidney Foundation joins major national initiative to help reduce Americans' salt intake

When it comes to dietary sodium, less is certainly best, yet Americans today consume 50 percent more than the recommended daily quantities of sodium, according to a recent Institute of Medicine Report. The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) joins 45 health organizations in teaming up to combat dangerous levels of dietary sodium as part of the National Salt Reduction Initiative. The Initiative's goal is to reduce the country's salt intake by at least 20 percent over the next five years.

"Diets high in sodium increase blood pressure levels. High blood pressure damages the kidneys over time, and is a leading cause of kidney failure. As high blood pressure rates have increased, kidney disease has spiraled to the point where it now affects 26 million Americans. Strategies that reduce salt intake for the masses can have the effect of lowering blood pressure, and that may be beneficial in easing the burden of chronic kidney disease in this country," says Bryan Becker, MD, NKF President. Learn more here.

Study: Spouses of dialysis patients have reduced kidney function as well

Married couples share a bed, a life, children, but chronic illness? A new study, reported in the May issue of American Journal of Kidney Diseases, suggests that a shared home environment and health habits can contribute to the development of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the spouses of dialysis patients.

"We were surprised to find that the risk of developing chronic kidney disease for spouses of hemodialysis patients is just about as high as it is for blood relatives of these patients," said study author Dr. Hung-Chun Chen of the Division of Nephrology at Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital in Taiwan.

Learn more here.

Big benefits from eating less salt

Even small reductions in salt intake could reduce cases of heart disease, stroke and heart attacks as much as reductions in smoking, obesity and cholesterol levels. Learn more here.