The Congressional Alliance Renal Effort (CARE) Projects

The Minority Health Month Foundation has developed a web-based tool designed to identify areas of the country, divided by zip code, where incidence of End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) is high – The Congressional Kidney Atlas (CK-ATLAS). This tool allows the user to depict the incidence of ESRD nationally and by state, congressional districts, and state house and senate legislative districts. The CK-ATLAS utilizes a comprehensive database that links vital statistics (demographic & environmental), claims data, clinical laboratory values and other data elements into one centralized data warehouse.

The CK-ATLAS is currently in the developmental stage and once completed will provide accurate ESRD incidence information for the country. The tool will also be a useful measure for assessing the impact of intervention to reducing the incidence and prevalence of ESRD/CKD.

The National Minority Health Month Foundation has also assembled a National and a Washington, DC-based community task force that includes members of the local medical, patient and public health community to support the educational efforts to promote the CK-ATLAS, including:

• DC City Government
• DC Department of Health
• National Kidney Foundation of the National Capital Area
• American Kidney Fund
• American Association of Kidney Patients
• Howard University
• Georgetown University
• George Washington University

The CK-ATLAS is an excellent resource for ensuring that all education and outreach efforts aimed at ESRD and CKD are targeted to those areas in the country where prevalence and incidence are highest. More targeted education efforts will ensure that people at risk for ESRD/CKD benefit from early diagnosis and optimal care to prevent progression of both CKD and ESRD.

For more information on the CARE Projects, please contact NMHMF.