The Kidney Foundation has created a unique and FREE online platform to help support the physical, mental, social and spiritual wellbeing of kidney patients and caregivers.
 

 For Health Partners

 

Kidney Wellness Hub is here to HELP YOU support your kidney patients and their families.

The Kidney Foundation has created the Kidney Wellness Hub as a FREE interactive online resource to help support the physical, mental and social wellbeing of YOUR kidney patients and their care partners as well as living donors. The Kidney Wellness Hub contains customized content, tools and activities to benefit all kidney patients across the continuum of care, wherever they are on their kidney journey. 

Downloadable PDF Poster to share with your patients and their families.

We wanted to create a page just for our Health Care Partners to make it easy to download and share the Kidney Wellness Hub with your kidney families. It will be of particular importance to the most vulnerable kidney patients who may need additional wellness support and the newly diagnosed where maintaining a healthy lifestyle is critical to their ability to help slow the progression of the disease or even avoid kidney failure. 

It is important to note that information contained on the site is NOT medical but is intended to complement the advice and support of you, as their health care provider. We also recognize that a lot of valuable wellness content already exists so we have included a section for trusted Resources. One of the ways we keep things relevant is by creating new classes and Events as the community identifies their wellness needs.

We hope you see the Kidney Wellness Hub as a valuable tool to help you support your patients and their families. Please feel free to share or post the downloadable Kidney Wellness Hub poster with your patients.

What can you expect to find on the Kidney Wellness Hub?

Each page has tips and tools for that area, as well as on-demand videos, sessions or classes, a chance to “ask the expert” questions and submit a request for specific information or content. One of the ways we keep the Kidney Wellness Hub relevant is by developing new events and classes and hosting online webinars.

STAYING ACTIVE videos curated to different fitness levels and stages of kidney disease whether that’s low mobility exercises or yoga, cardio, dance, strength training etc.

Tips to help your patients Stay Active from Dr. Megan Borkum

  • Exercise is medicine prescribe it and start the conversation with your patients.

  • Exercise doesn’t have to cost a lot of money patients can try one of the on-demand videos that can be done wherever they find themselves.

  • Exercise is safe for kidney patients.

EATING WELL has customized kidney-friendly meal options and cooking classes that reflect the different needs of our kidney community in addition to celebrating diverse culinary traditions.

Tips to help your patients Eat Well from Dani Renouf, RD, MSc, CDE, and Anja Webster, RD, CDE

  • Focus on what your patients CAN eat, not what they can’t.

  • Encourage your patients – all patients -- to eat more fruits and vegetables - the majority of us across Canada do not meet our daily needs for fibre, fruits or vegetables.

  • Patients and family members can get overwhelmed on Dr. Google refer them to trusted sources for diet and nutrition like the Kidney Wellness Hub. Don’t forget to check out the resources page as well for even more trusted resources.

MENTAL WELLBEING many tools plus an opportunity to be part of our free Kidney Wellness Coaching pilot by a trained professional.

Tips to help your patients maintain their Mental Wellbeing from Francine Gosselin, MSW, RSW

  • Remember the power of “hello, how are you?” can not be underestimated. Acknowledging your patients and their care partners can provide grounding to enable a patient to breathe and then be ready for what’s next.

  • Get curious about what gives your patient quality of life, what motivates them, and what their goals are by simply asking them and then documenting that information in their file.

  • We want to let patients know we care about the whole patient, not just their labs and tests. Ask a simple question like “I want to acknowledge that what you are going through can be very hard. Who or what is supporting you to cope on your journey?

SOCIALLY CONNECTING has patient, their care partners and living organ donor engagement opportunities to foster the sharing of lived experiences and encourage the building of a community of peers who can share lived experiences.

Tips to help your patients maintain their Social Connections from Kate Chong, Kidney Foundation, Director, Patient Services

  • Refer your patients to speak one-to-one with a trained peer mentor by telephone. Someone who can answer their questions about the realities of living with kidney disease.

  • Empower your patients to join a virtual Peer Networking Session to connect with the kidney community and share lived experiences with peers.

  • Share the opportunity to join one or both of our private Facebook Groups where they can choose how little or how much they engage. It’s a great place to start and you are more than welcome to join as well.

EVENTS There are many other opportunities to engage with others and learn about living well with kidney disease here at the Kidney Wellness Hub. We also include any wellness events that are being featured by anyone throughout Canada. If you know of a wellness-related event that you feel should be listed here please forward the details to us at kidneywellnesshub@kidney.ca

RESOURCES We do not want to recreate or duplicate the many excellent resources that already exist to support the overall health and wellbeing of your patients. This page contains links to some additional trusted wellness content and information from key kidney stakeholder agencies. We know this is just a starting point and will continue to add to this list. If you are aware of other wellness resources you think would be helpful to kidney patients and caregivers, we encourage you to email us at kidnewellnesshub@kidney.ca.

Building a Kidney Community

The Kidney Wellness Hub is about building an inclusive and welcoming space, where patients and caregivers can come together and build a sense of community virtually. Additional content will continuously be added to the Kidney Wellness Hub including content that reflects our diverse kidney community, such as content in other languages to help reach those disproportionately affected by kidney disease. We want every family living with kidney disease to know there is a network of support out there, beyond the amazing care you provide from the medical side, to help them live well with kidney disease. After all there is no cure for kidney disease, it’s something they live with for life. Of course, this means that you as the health care partner are with them for life too.

So, please JOIN UP and join us, become a member of the Kidney Wellness Hub community today!  You are an integral part of OUR kidney community, and we value your input as we build and grow.

About the Kidney Foundation

The Kidney Wellness Hub is just one of the many critical programs and services offered by the Kidney Foundation to support kidney patients.  Learn more about the impacts The Kidney Foundation makes here.

The Kidney Foundation has a wealth of information and educational resources that may also be beneficial. These include two kidney patient manuals: Living with Reduced Kidney Function and Living with Kidney Failure and an Information Hot Line at 604 558 6879 where patients can speak directly to staff in our Programs and Services area. Although we do not provide medical advice, we can answer questions patients may have about their diagnosis. For more information on how we support kidney patients go to kidney.ca.

As the key non-profit in Canada serving the kidney community, the Kidney Foundation has been a trusted resource for over 60 years to kidney patients and caregivers. We offer critical programs and services, support research, and promote public awareness. For more information on the Kidney Foundation and its resources, please go to kidney.ca.

The Foundation also works in close collaboration and partnership with renal health professionals, and renal organizations including BC Renal, BC Transplant, Can-SOLVE and the health authority renal programs to empower those with kidney disease to optimize their health status. In an effort to reach newly diagnosed patients, the Kidney Foundation has connected with Division of Family Practice groups across BC and spoken directly to hundreds of family practitioners and nurse practitioners about the Foundation.

Contact Us

If you have any questions, need additional information or have ideas for future content, please email kidneywellnesshub@kidney.ca.