News and Events
Free Phosphorus Education Materials Now Available for Patients and Professionals
These tools will allow your patients to see which tools at fast food restaurants are high in phosphorus additives and also give them healthier alternatives.
Upcoming Fistula First Educational Opportunities
Fistula First CME Dinners - "Fistulas First, Catheters Last - Improving Hemodialysis Outcomes" - Sponsored by Network 8, Inc. and Vanderbilt School of Medicine
Thursday, October 16 - Andrew Chadwick's Restaurant at Rutledge Hill - Nashville - 5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
For more information and registration form, click here.
Thursday, October 30 - Peerless Restaurant - Knoxville - 5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
For more information and registration form, click here.
Fistula First Educational Conference for Dialysis Nurses and Patient Care Technicians
Thursday, October 30 - University of Tennessee, Knoxville - 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Check back for more information soon!
Emergency Preparedness
If you are evacuating and need a place to dialyze, please use the following toll free numbers for assistance in locating a dialysis facility.
| Davita - Hurricane Hotline | 1-800-400-8331 |
| DCI - Donor Referral/Patient Transient Assistance | 1-800-969-4438 |
| DSI -Hurricane Hotline | 1-877-374-3375 |
| FMCNA - Hurricane Hotline | 1-800-626-1297 |
Network Annual Meeting Hotel Block Deadline Extended
WHAT HAPPENED ? The brochure for the Annual Network Meeting/Tennessee Symposium was delayed in reaching dialysis and transplant facilities, causing the block of discounted rooms to expire before you could use them.
WHAT IS BEING DONE? The Music City Sheraton has agreed to extend the room block through September 22. As of today, rooms are available on October 15 and 16 (Wednesday and Thursday nights) at a special rate of $139 per night. Also, the early bird meeting registration fee will be extended through October 3.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? We want to ensure that as many facility personnel as possible are able to learn about two important issues affecting all facilities:
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The impact of the new Conditions of Coverage, effective October 14, 2008.
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The new CROWNWeb data software required for every dialysis facility, effective February 1, 2009, and the CMS training plan for facilities.
These two events will fundamentally change the way dialysis facilities conduct day-to-day internal operations in order to remain eligible for Medicare reimbursement.
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO? Even if you are not 100% certain that you or your staff will be able to attend, we urge you to book a room before September 22. The toll-free number is 1-888-627-7060, and you should reference “Network 8” for the special rate.
To register for the meeting itself, follow the instructions on the brochure and submit your payment and registration form to the NKF of Middle Tennessee, Network 8’s meeting co-sponsor.
Independent educational sessions conducted by vendors require separate registration. For more information, go to http://www.nkfmdtn.org/Decision2008.html.
If you have a question about meeting program, please contact the Network office at 601-936-9260. If you have a question about registration, contact the NKF office at 615-383-3887 (fax number 615-383-2647).
Sheraton Music City to Host 2008 Network 8 Annual Council Meeting and Tennessee Renal Symposium
We are pleased to announce that Network 8, Inc. and National Kidney Foundation of Middle Tennessee will be jointly sponsoring the 2008 Network 8 Annual Council Meeting and Tennessee Renal Symposium. The meeting will be held October 15-17, 2008 at Sheraton Music City Hotel in Nashville.
The meeting theme is Decision 2008: Conditions for Change. Some of the topics include the new Conditions of Coverage, dealing with threatening and abusive patients, kidney disease self-management, CROWNWeb, and advances and ethics in transplantation.
Click here to view the brochure with the meeting agenda and hotel and conference registration information.
Be sure to mark your calendar, and we hope to see you there!
Detailed Timeline for Transition to Electronic Reporting!
With the newly published Conditions for Coverage comes a challenging CMS mandate for all outpatient dialysis facilities and for Network 8. Beginning February 2, 2009, facilities will be required to submit all 2728 and 2746 Forms, all patient events, and all CPM and Fistula First data electronically . For important information affecting all dialysis personnel with reporting responsibilities to the Network, please click here.
Countdown to CROWNWeb
Recently CMS distributed information to each dialysis facility in Network 8 explaining the upcoming rollout of CROWNWeb, a web-based information-reporting system that will become mandatory for all outpatient dialysis facilities in February 2009. The packet gives a general overview of the new process, and it outlines the system requirements needed at each clinic in order to use the program. If your facility 's administrator/head nurse did not receive the information packet, please contact Network 8 at 601-936-9260. For answers to frequently asked questions, please click here. (Link opens in a new browser.)
Heparin Shortages and Recalls
In early March, due to numerous Heparin recalls, a link to MedWatch, the FDA safety and adverse event reporting program, was added to the Network 8 website. However, due to frequent recall notices from various sources, it may still be difficult for some to locate the most current Heparin information. To minimize the confusion, we are now adding a link to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists with information on Heparin shortages and recalls from various manufacturers. Click here for this information. (Link opens in a new browser.)
New MedWatch Link
Due to the numerous blast faxes that have been sent regarding the recent Heparin recall, we have added a direct link to the FDA MedWatch website so that users will have access to the most current information available, as soon as it is posted. This link, located on the left side of the page under “Quality Improvement” section, has information on FDA activities, including recalls and warnings for both medicines and medical devices. Please contact us if you have any questions or need assistance navigating this site.
Home Dialysis Assessment Tool
The Medical Education Institute, Inc. in Madison Wisconsin has developed a tool known as MATCH-D to help nephrologists and dialysis staff identify and assess candidates for home dialysis therapies (PD and HHD). Three categories describe patients that are excellent candidates, those who may need to have a barrier addressed first, and those who may require an alternate modality choice. Click here to access the MATCH-D tool.
CDC opens enrollment for Healthcare Safety Network
The National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) is now open to all healthcare facilities nationwide that would like to join. NHSN is a secure, internet-based surveillance system that integrates former CDC surveillance systems, including the National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance System (NNIS), National Surveillance System for Heathcare Workers (NaSH), and the Dialysis Surveillance Network (DSN).
NHSN enables healthcare facilities to collect and use data about healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), adherence to clinical practices known to prevent HAIs, and other adverse events. One of the enhanced features of NHSN is the capacity for healthcare facilities to share data with other facilities within a healthcare system and/or public health agencies in a timely manner.
For more information about NHSN, please see: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/nhsn.html. (Link opens in new browser.)
For more information on how to enroll in NHSN, including the training requirements, please see: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/nhsn_howToEnroll.html. (Link opens in new browser.)
This site was last reviewed and updated on 10/1/2008.