Sacred Heart and University of Florida Health Collaborate in Kidney Transplant Program
Kidney failure, or end-stage renal disease, occurs when kidneys are no longer able to function at a level needed for daily life. Once this occurs, the work of the kidneys – filtering the blood to remove waste and excess water – can be done by dialysis, or the kidneys may be replaced through transplantation. The advantage of transplantation over dialysis is improving patients’ quality of life and enabling the return to a more normal lifestyle. The most common causes of kidney failure, in the United States are diabetes and high blood pressure. Nationwide, more than 100,000 people are on the waiting list for a life-saving kidney transplant, and 13 people die each day while waiting for a kidney transplant, according to the National Kidney Foundation.
Sacred Heart Health System and University of Florida Health have collaborated to launch a new kidney transplant program to benefit the thousands of individuals across the Southeast currently awaiting a life-saving transplant.
“This is truly an extension of our mission to provide life-saving care to those who desperately need it,” said Susan Davis, president CEO of Sacred Heart Health System. “We are honored to collaborate with UF Health to provide the only kidney transplant program in northwest Florida, which will increase access to care for patients with end-stage renal disease.”
Transplant program manager Nicole Clem, ARNP, is board-certified with the American Nurses Credentialing Center and a member of the North American Transplant Coordinators Organization and the National Kidney Foundation Council of Advanced Practitioners.
The comprehensive team to guide patients along their journey to transplant also includes a social worker, transplant medical assistant and a patient safety manager, as well as other medical specialists as needed for individual patient care.
“This collaboration brings together the best of university-based and community-based medicine to benefit more communities,” said Michael L. Good, M.D., dean of the UF College of Medicine.
The Sacred Heart Kidney Transplant Program is located inside the Payne Building on the Sacred Heart Hospital Pensacola campus, 5149 N. Ninth Ave. in Pensacola. For information, please call 850-416-1080.
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