Living with Kidney Disease manual
What are "Patient Services"?
In Quebec, over 6,000 persons are afflicted with end-stage renal disease and thousands of others are suffering from kidney disease but on a less advanced stage.
These people had to face a kidney disease diagnosis that surely represented for them a shattering and frightening experience. To be afflicted with kidney disease certainly upsets a person's whole life, but it also affects the members of their family. To help them face the daily challenges associated with kidney disease, The Kidney Foundation of Canada offers well integrated patient services and support to families, including information services, financial and psychological support.
Are you aware of all the patient services offered by the Quebec Branch of The Kidney Foundation of Canada?
There are two categories of patient services: essential and complementary.
The following is a list of the essential services offered by the Foundation:
Manual entitled "Living with Kidney Disease"
To order
Information brochures
Each year, some 20,000 bilingual brochures providing information on kidney disease, treatments, etc., are distributed free of charge across the province.
List of brochures available:
- Let us introduce ourselves
- Patient Services
- Your Kidneys
- Diabetes and Kidney Disease
- High Blood Pressure and Your Kidneys
- Glomerulonephritis
- Polycystic Kidney Disease
- Kidney Stones
- Urinary Tract Infections
- Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome
- Nutrition and Chronic Renal Insufficiency
- Treating Kidney Failure
- Hemodialysis
- Peritoneal Dialysis
- Kidney Transplantation
- Bone disease & chronic kidney disease NEW!
- Research makes a difference
- Hamburger disease, Steps to prevention
- Organ and tissue donation
- Childhood Nephrotic Syndrome - booklet
- Your Child & Chronic Kidney Failure - booklet
- Lupus Erythematosus - leaflet
- Alport Syndrome - leaflet
- Individuals with a Solitary Kidney - leaflet
- Wilms' Tumor -leaflet
- Tax Tips for Kidney Patients - leaflet
- Certificate respecting an impairment (Québec) and Disability Tax Credit Certificate (Canada) - forms
This program is available in hospitals to help outpatients in an emergency when all other resources have been exhausted. It can be used to reimburse patients for kidney disease related expenses such as travel, accommodations, medication, or special foods. This fund can also serve to purchase tensiometers, home peritoneal dialysis equipment and blood sugar measuring apparatus.
The following services are complementary and available only when the total amount of funds collected can cover the expenditure:
MedicAlert Bracelet
The Kidney Foundation will pay the cost of the bracelet, applicable taxes and shipping fees, to patients who do not have the financial means to do so.
To Order
Bursaries
These bursaries are offered to people living with kidney disease or kidney transplant recipients to help them in the pursuit of their college or university studies. To obtain a copy of the policies and a bursary request form, contact your local chapter of the Foundation or the Director of Patient Services.
The Fondation Andr� Gauthier has contributed $15,000 to the scholarship program, which enables the Kidney Foundation to award a greater number of scholarships.
Thanks to an agreement between The Kidney Foundation of Canada and Bell Mobility, patients awaiting an organ transplant can rent a numerical pager with unlimited service for a period of 12 months free of charge. To command a request form for the loan of a pager, contact the Director of Patient Services.
Information for travellers
Vacations are possible for all kidney patients as long as they are in reasonably stable health and have obtained approval from their doctors. Trips must be well planned and you must bring all necessary medication and documents. To ensure that you do not forget anything, talk to your healthcare team. The following links will help you locate a dialysis unit in places of your choice:
www.nephron.com/usacgi.html - dialysis units in US with maps and driving instructions
www.dialysisfinder.com - locates dialysis units within US
www.eneph.com/thelist/index.asp - official website for the journal ' Dialysis & Transplantation '; offers an exclusive guide to dialysis centers worldwide that accept visiting patients
www.globaldialysis.com - dialysis units around the world, kidney patient associations, and national kidney charities around the world, plus lots of useful information and links
www.eurodial.org - directory of units around the world, travel agency that can help you to find accommodation, insurance, and booking holidays.
Income Tax
People receiving dialysis or transplant recipients can benefit from income tax credits for disabled people and for medical costs from the federal as well as the provincial governments. If you wish to obtain the disability tax credit forms, call Canada Customs and Revenue Agency and Revenu Québec offices, or visit their respective Websites: www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca and www.revenu.gouv.qc.ca . You can also obtain them, as well as various advice concerning your income tax declaration, by contacting the Director of Patient Services.
Summer Camp for Quebec dialyzed and transplant recipient children
The Spaghetti Day sponsored by the Laval Brotherhood of Policemen provides children aged 8 to 18 and living with kidney disease the opportunity to spend a week in a great summer camp adapted to their needs.
David, Jordan and Cedric, so happy to be together at the Camp
The Quebec Branch Newsletter
This newsletter, distributed in English and French to all kidney patients, comments on the various services and activities of the Foundation and supplies the reader with the latest information on kidney disease, organ donation, etc.
To subscribe
Social Events
Social events are organized for patients and their family.
Services in the various Chapters can vary according to local resources and needs.
For further information on patient services, contact your local Chapter or communicate with:
Director of Patient Services
The Kidney Foundation of Canada
Quebec Branch
2300 René-Lévesque Blvd. W
Montreal (Quebec) H3H 2R5