JoHelene Patrick's Contact Details

JoHelene Patrick's Company Details

Alabama Kidney Foundation Inc

Birmingham, AL, US • 10 - 19 Employees
Hospital/Clinic

Our Mission:The Alabama Kidney Foundation serves kidney patients by providing financial assistance, education and support services. The Foundation provides public education to promote organ donation awareness and prevention of kidney disease. Our Vision:To improve prevention awareness and the individual quality of life of Alabamians affected by kidney disease.Who We Are:The Alabama Kidney Foundation (AKF) was founded to assist kidney patients and has over a 39 year history of serving Alabama's kidney patient population. Today, the AKF is the only state-based organization dedicated to assisting kidney patients, and each year touches the lives of thousands of Alabamians.Our History:The AKF's rich legacy of serving our state's kidney patients began in 1975. At that time, life was very difficult for kidney patients. Few treatment facilities were available and the cost of treatment was enormous. With the demand for treatment far exceeding capacity, real life and death decisions were being made about who would be treated.It all began with a conversation between two kidney patients where one made known his decision to stop expensive treatments because he feared it would leave his family destitute. That hopelessness and despair would have far-reaching effects. William E. Rowe was the patient who listened to this tragic bedside confession, and knew other patients faced similar circumstances. His empathy and concern drove him to gather volunteers and form an organization dedicated to financially supporting kidney patients. These volunteers soon became known as the Alabama Kidney Foundation. Incredible advancements in kidney medicine have occurred since those early days, but the despair and hopelessness caused by kidney disease is still evident.Alabama ranks 5th in the nation for kidney disease. Today nearly 8,000 Alabamians seek dialysis treatments three times a week simply to sustain life. Many of those patients turn to the AKF for help.