American Kidney Fund Provides Kidney Disease Education and Healthy Living Tips Through Virtual Kidney Action Week, Sept. 14-18

ROCKVILLE, Md. (September 10, 2020) — Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Kidney Fund (AKF) has transformed its signature community kidney disease prevention event, Kidney Action Day, into a virtual Kidney Action Week. Kidney Action Week is a first-of-its-kind event in the COVID-19 era, focusing on kidney health and kidney disease awareness and prevention for at-risk individuals across the country. The interactive event will take place online, from Monday, Sept. 14 to Friday, Sept. 18.

Kidney disease — the ninth leading cause of death in the U.S. — is a silent killer without symptoms until the late stages. Nine out of 10 people with the early stages of kidney disease are unaware they have it, and half of those with severely reduced kidney function (but not yet on dialysis) do not know they have the disease. Prevention activities like Kidney Action Week are crucial to the public's understanding and awareness of kidney disease.

"For the 37 million Americans living with kidney disease and the many millions more who are at risk, the need for kidney disease education does not stop because of the coronavirus crisis," said LaVarne A. Burton, AKF president and CEO. "With kidney disease and its two leading causes — diabetes and high blood pressure — all being risk factors for serious cases of COVID-19, it is more important now than ever that AKF continue providing the resources people need to take action for their health."

Kidney Action Week will take place in a dedicated, interactive Facebook Group for participants. For full event details and to register, visit KidneyFund.org/kidneyactionweek.

Kidney Action Week schedule highlights include:

Monday, Sept. 14

• 3:00 p.m. ET Facebook Live event: Ask a Nephrologist Q&A with Silas Norman, M.D., MPH, a member of AKF's Board of Trustees
• 1:00 p.m. ET - Kidney-friendly cooking demonstration by a culinary expert, featuring recipes from AKF's Kidney Kitchen™
• 5:00 p.m. ET Vinyasa yoga fitness demonstration

Tuesday, Sept. 15

• 1:00 p.m. ET - Kidney-friendly cooking demonstration by a renal dietitian, featuring recipes from Kidney Kitchen
• 5:00 p.m. ET - Zumba fitness demonstration

Wednesday, Sept. 16

• 1:00 p.m. ET - AKF's Congressional briefing, COVID-19, Health Disparities and the Social Determinants of Health, will be conducted on Zoom and will focus on factors contributing to the disproportionate impact of kidney failure and COVID-19 on communities of color
• 3:00 p.m. ET - Cooking demonstration by a culinary expert, featuring recipes from Kidney Kitchen
• 5:00 p.m. ET - Chair yoga fitness demonstration

Thursday, Sept. 17

• 1:00 p.m. ET - Cooking demonstration by a renal dietitian, featuring recipes from Kidney Kitchen
• 3:00 p.m. ET - Instructional video on how to conduct blood pressure screenings at home
• 5:00 p.m. ET - Zumba fitness demonstration

Friday, Sept. 18

• 1:00 p.m. ET - Cooking demonstration by a renal dietitian, featuring recipes from Kidney Kitchen
• 2:15 p.m. ET - Instructional video on how to conduct blood sugar checks at home
• 3:00 p.m. ET - Ask a Dietitian Q&A with a renal dietitian and nutritionist
• 4:30 p.m. ET - Chair exercises fitness demonstration

Kidney Action Week is part of AKF's Know Your Kidneys™ kidney disease prevention program. In 2019, AKF provided free kidney health screenings to more than 12,000 people in 30 cities nationwide.

Kidney Action Week is made possible in part by the generosity of presenting national sponsor U.S. Renal Care and supporting sponsors Otsuka America Pharmaceutical Inc. and Satellite Healthcare.