The Kidney Community
of Southern California
Coalition

Description
    The Kidney Community of Southern California Coalition (KCSC), initiated in May 2005, is an education-focused coalition that strives to reach patients directly and via the provider and professional communities. It entails collaboration with numerous renal patient, provider and professional organizations that are well-known to the Network, but also many others that are not necessarily renal-related, but share an interest in improving education/care for patients with co-morbid conditions (e.g., diabetes) commonly found in CKD/ESRD patients.

    Throughout 2006, the KCSC grew in membership and activity. In its second year, it went from 16 original organizations to 25. Our membership recommended and recruited new organizations, including the Council on Renal Nutrition, the Comprehensive Center for Healthcare Disparities, and the Braille Institute.
   
    In June 2006, the KCSC web site, www.kidney411.org, was launched to provide new educational opportunities for renal patients and professionals in Southern California. Use of the website has steadily increased, with the number of visits in December 2006 reaching 11,000.
   
    One of the Coalition goals is “To ensure that the needs of underserved populations are a significant consideration in all KCSC initiatives and activities”. All members agree that a focus on "underserved populations” as identified by language, race, culture, geography and/or insurance status within the CKD and ESRD populations is appropriate. Progress has been made in working towards this goal through the Charles Drew Medical School/RAND Corporation/UCLA Comprehensive Center for Health Disparities in Chronic Kidney Disease (CCHD-CKD), which collaborates with members from many minority, grassroots organizations such as Healthy African American Families. There is also a focus on the Hispanic community by several Coalition members. The KCSC has participated in local community health fairs with an informational booth and continues to look for opportunities to reach the at-risk population.

    The KCSC will continue to review and refine its processes, practices and structure to improve its ability to fulfill the KCSC mission to provide greater coordination and effectiveness of educational resources to improve quality of care for patients with, or at risk of, kidney disease. 
 

The Kidney Community of Southern California
Mission and Goals 

Mission

To provide greater coordination and effectiveness of educational resources to improve quality of care for persons with or at risk of kidney disease in Southern California.

Goals

1.    To achieve broad & growing representation of local, regional and national renal organizations in the Community.

2.    To develop innovative mechanisms to facilitate coordination of educational programming for patients, professionals and member organizations.

3.    To serve as an effective clearing-house for existing and new renal-related information when a need is identified and no existing resource is found.

4.    To prepare new additional materials as necessary and appropriate.

5.    To ensure that the needs of underserved populations are of significant consideration in all Community initiatives and activities.

6.    To develop a marketing plan for the KCSC.