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NRAA focuses on safety issues, regulatory changes at annual meeting
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The National Renal Administrators Association Annual Conference is the largest gathering of renal administrators in the United States, bringing together the dialysis and kidney care community and providing professionals of different specialties with learning and networking opportunities.
Speakers at the 2019 conference include leading experts in the kidney care community, government agencies, health care industry and dialysis business world. It is also an opportunity to reunite with colleagues and connect with industry partners.
“The 2019 education program is overflowing with topics that are relevant to all attendees,” Valerie Okrend, director of education for the NRAA, told Nephrology News & Issues. “Subject matter experts and speakers were proposed and selected by the NRAA planning committee. We will especially drill down on latest developments from the executive order on Advancing American Kidney Health and the ESRD (Prospective Payment System) Proposed Rule in policy and practice.”
Education opportunities begin with the pre-conference workshop day on Wednesday, October 2. “The workshop day allows attendees to engage more closely with faculty and colleagues, creating a more personalized learning experience,” Okrend said. “The topics are compelling and prove to be a great opportunity to touch on diverse content from the dialysis field.”
Presentations will be delivered by a panel from the National Forum of ESRD Networks on sharing the roles, responsibilities and goals of the network; a team of experts on helping administrators will develop a hands-on approach to self, staff and patient care interventions; two sessions dedicated to infection prevention, including assessment and gap analysis to identify deficiencies in infection control, followed by a practical and unique intervention “which will engage staff in a nontraditional way to spread staff enthusiasm and not germs,” Okrend said. “Lastly, we will learn about the evolving role of the clinical manager and gain new tools that will positively impact chronic kidney disease outcomes,” she said.
During the first day of the annual conference, keynote speaker Bill Coon, a heart and kidney transplant recipient, will share the importance of individualized patient care and how special the patient-provider bond is to the mental state of a critically ill individual.
“Bill uses his story to highlight situations where a member of his team did something unique that lifted his spirits and kept him alive,” Okrend said. “His presentation highlights the importance of the profession and compassion in the setting of modern-day medicine.”
The remainder of the day includes presenters sharing their insider knowledge on topics such as advocacy efforts across the kidney care community; legal and legislative updates straight from Washington and the use of data to improve patient care; building and operating home programs; and innovations in the water arena.
Day two of the conference will include a presentation on change management in an evolving environment with access to tools that will be useful to attendees.
“Approaches to supportive care will be discussed, physician engagement issues, transplant topics and analyzing operations for making key management decisions and setting business strategies,” Okrend said. “The day will wrap up with a peer-led town hall style discussion on how to remain independent in the field today. Lessons learned from techniques put into action in different setting will be discussed so attendees can put together their own blueprint and action plan to achieve their business goals.”
CE credits are available throughout the meeting and/or CME for sessions on Friday.
For NRAA members, the conversation continues after the conference on NRAA Voices, a members-only online community.
“This unique opportunity allows members to extend the dialogue outside of the live meeting, ask questions, and connect with peers on these topics and more,” Okrend said. – by Mark E. Neumann