History

The first National Disaster Summit for the kidney community was held in Washington, D.C. in January 2006. During the Summit, the Kidney Community Emergency Response (KCER) Coalition was formed in an effort to minimize disruption to life-sustaining dialysis and transplant services. The KCER is comprised of partners from the entire kidney community, representing: patient and professional organizations; practitioners serving the patient with kidney failure, such as nurses, technicians, dietitians, social workers, and physicians; providers, including independent dialysis facilities, large dialysis organizations and transplant facilities; hospitals; suppliers; ESRD Networks; state emergency and survey representatives; and federal agencies, including the FDA, CDC, NIH as well as CMS. The 2007 Summit was held on March 1 in Baltimore, Maryland.

The KCER continues to hold annual Summit meetings to promote emergency preparedness in the kidney community.

To read more about the history of the Coalition, read the CMS press release, "Medicare Announces Disaster Response Plan for Individuals with Kidney Failure."