American Kidney Fund Partners with U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to Drive Awareness and Early Detection of Kidney Disease Among U.S. Veterans

ROCKVILLE, Md. (November 9, 2020) — The American Kidney Fund (AKF) today announced a new partnership with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Health Administration to increase awareness of kidney disease among U.S. veterans and to support veterans who have been diagnosed with kidney disease.

As a group, veterans have higher rates of chronic kidney disease (CKD) than the general U.S. population. While kidney disease affects 1 in 7 Americans, it affects about 1 in 6 veterans, including more than 40,000 VA-enrolled veterans with kidney failure (end-stage renal disease or ESRD) who rely on dialysis or a kidney transplant to survive. Together, AKF and VA will identify new opportunities for collaboration to improve kidney disease resources, programs and support for veterans. The organizations will also collaborate to provide patient education materials and resources to veterans diagnosed with kidney disease, families and caregivers at AKF-sponsored free events, and to make AKF's award-winning kidney health educational materials and programs available to VA-enrolled veterans and VA clinicians.

"The American Kidney Fund shares the VA goal of supporting veterans with kidney disease by helping them live healthier lives through early identification and referral for appropriate treatment," said LaVarne Burton, AKF president and CEO. "Working together, we can leverage each other's strengths to address the unique challenges veterans face in managing their kidney health."